Soul Calibur: Mixed Destinies
by SSBFreak
Summary: Fifty characters from several different nodes are thrown together, pitted against each other. Watch as they fight off each other to gain the mystical swords, Soul Edge and Soul Calibur.
1. Cast

Intro:

I've been wanting to do this for a bit, but I figured I'd do it now considering what it's based on.

Basically, this story will be the separate stories of fifty different characters in a Soul Calibur-like game. The characters are all taken from my own copy of Soul Calibur 4, where I created all of these characters. Some of them look like the real characters, while others don't, but I still made them with the characters in mind.

How it will work is that each chapter will be the story mode for one of the characters as they go against others. I randomly paired up characters for each fight so I wouldn't have any repetition, and the end bosses for each character is their "Destined Battle" which has them against one of the other fifty characters. Keep in mind that I would just be writing the story scenes and not the actual fight. I wouldn't be able to keep up with that.

Here are the fifty characters (which I'll be doing chapters for in no particular order):

**1: Luigi Mario**

Franchise: Mario Brothers

Description: A middle-aged man dressed in a green plumber's outfit, complete with a cap and blue overalls.

Character Overview: The second banana to his big brother, Luigi is often overlooked by the public, but is just as determined to get the job done as Mario.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Rock. Luigi is armed with a giant version of the Hammer Bros. hammer.

**2: Princess Peach**

Franchise: Mario Brothers

Description: A dainty young woman with blonde hair and wearing a pink dress.

Character Overview: Although often little more than a damsel in distress, Peach has proven many times that she is capable of handling herself.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Setsuka. Peach is armed with a sword concealed in an umbrella.

**3: Bowser**

Franchise: Mario Brothers

Description: A giant turtle with firey red hair and a spiked shell.

Character Overview: Constant kidnapper of Princess Peach for reasons unknown, Bowser is always annoyed at the antics of the Mario Bros. when they foil his wanted relationship.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Astaroth. Bowser is armed with a giant axe.

**4: Amy Rose**

Franchise: Sonic the Hedgehog

Description: A pink hedgehog girl in a red dress.

Character Overview: Although she tends to stalk her hero, Sonic, with a love-struck obsession, Amy is more-than-capable of defeating enemies without having to rely on him.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Rock. Amy is, obviously, armed with her trusty hammer.

**5: Dr. Eggman**

Franchise: Sonic the Hedgehog

Description: An overweight man with glasses, a huge mustache and a red and black suit.

Character Overview: An evil scientist with an obsession with ruling the world, Eggman has had almost every last one of his plans foiled by a lone, blue hedgehog.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Zasalamel. Eggman fights with a small device of his that can turn into a metallic scythe at will.

**6: King**

Franchise: King of Fighters

Description: A young, slender woman with short hair, dressed in a white shirt, purple vest and red pants.

Character Overview: A woman with close ties to a family of fighting masters, King is a close ally and a fierce fighter at the same time.

Fighting Style: Raphael/Amy. King, true to her French heritage, fights with a French rapier.

**7: Billy Kane**

Franchise: King of Fighters

Description: A young man with blonde hair, dressed in a denim jacket and pants with a red and white bandana.

Character Overview: The right-hand-man to Geese Howard, Billy has always been focused on making life for him and his sister better. He is the eternal rival of Terry Bogard.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Kilik. Billy fights with his red fighting staff.

**8: Lilly Kane**

Franchise: King of Fighters

Description: A young woman with long, blonde hair, dressed in a red dress with white trim.

Character Overview: The younger sister to Billy, Lilly has always been supportive of him, even when he makes less-than-right decisions.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Kilik. Lilly fights with her blue fighting staff.

**9: Dan Hibiki**

Franchise: Street Fighter

Description: A man with dark hair done into a ponytail, dressed in a bright pink fighting uniform.

Character Overview: Always considered a joke because of his laughable fighting style, Dan is constantly obsessed with proving to everyone that he's a competitor.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Siegfried. Dan fights with, of all things, a giant oar.

**10: Rainbow Mika**

Franchise: Street Fighter

Description: A young woman dress in a bright blue wrestling outfit, complete with a blue mask over her eyes. Her blonde hair is done into two huge ponytails.

Character Overview: A huge wrestling fan, Mika has proven to be one of the toughest women around, capable of defeating her hero, Zangief, in combat.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Talim. R. Mika fights with a pair of wrist weights that she uses as tonfas.

**11: The Joker**

Franchise: DC Comics

Description: A thin man with white skin, green hair, a purple suit and an eternal grin on his face.

Character Overview: The most twisted man in Gotham City, having the Joker anywhere other than the asylum is one of the most-dangerous things in the world.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Voldo. Joker fights with two dangerous-looking knives.

**12: Harley Quinn**

Franchise: DC Comics

Description: A blonde woman dressed in a red and black jester outfit, complete with a white, painted face.

Character Overview: Joker's most-trusted ally, even though he doesn't care much for her, Harley would faithfully go wherever Joker would.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Tira. Harley fights with a bladed ring.

**13: Red Hood**

Franchise: DC Comics

Description: A man dressed in a black biker's outfit. His entire head is obscured by a red mask that covers his face and head.

Character Overview: Known as the Robin that came back from the dead, Jason Todd prefers his own brand of justice these days: Violent and to the point.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Maxi. Red Hood fights with bladed nunchucks.

**14: The Riddler**

Franchise: DC Comics

Description: A man dressed in a green suit littered with black question marks. A purple mask adorns his face.

Character Overview: A former enemy of Batman, the Riddler is now a private investigator, albeit one Batman stills prefers to keep an eye on.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Kilik. Riddler fights with his purple riddle staff.

**15: The Creeper**

Franchise: DC Comics

Description: A yellow-skilled man with green hair, dressed in only a green speedo, a red feather boa and some red gloves and boots.

Character Overview: Going down as the only person that Joker ever called a "lunatic", the Creeper has a pure obsession with his henchwoman, Harley.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Yoshimitsu. The Creeper fights with a sword, but the flag on his back seems to help him defy gravity.

**16: The Scarecrow**

Franchise: DC Comics

Description: Simply put, a scrawny man dressed as a scarecrow, complete with a creepy bag over his head.

Character Overview: A former doctor obsessed with fear, the Scarecrow utilizes his own formula to make his victims relive their worst fears.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Voldo. The Scarecrow fights with a self-made device that involves sharp needles filled with his toxins strapped to his fingers.

**17: Reed**

Franchise: Suikoden

Description: A blonde man dressed in a white shirt, brown vest and beige pants. His hairstyle is rather distinctive.

Character Overview: A manservant to an aristocrat, Reed isn't known to complain about his job unless his employer acts completely out of line.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Mitsurugi. Reed fights with his weapon: A Tinto katana.

**18: Samus**

Franchise: Suikoden

Description: A dark-skinned man with white hair. He wears a brown vest and light brown pants.

Character Overview: A former manservant to the same aristocrat as Reed, Samus eventually left her service to return to his homeland of Karaya.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Yun-Seong. Samus fights with a Karayan sword, which is thicker than a normal one.

**19: Yuber**

Franchise: Suikoden

Description: A man with long, blonde hair. He is dressed in a black suit with a black hat that shrouds his mismatched eyes.

Character Overview: An agent of chaos, Yuber would prefer to destroy everything in sight if he had the time and wasn't constantly hiding from the only person that could kill him.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Cervantes. Yuber fights with two long, thin swords.

**20: Chris Lightfellow**

Franchise: Suikoden

Description: A silver-haired woman dressed like a knight, minus the lack of a helmet.

Character Overview: The leader of the Zexen Knights, Chris is renown for her skills on the battlefield and her loyalty to her country.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Hilde. Chris fights with her sword and a sharp staff that holds her country's flag on it.

**21: Cecile**

Franchise: Suikoden

Description: A young girl dressed in a knight's helmet and breastplate, although her legs are uncovered save for a plaid skirt.

Character Overview: The head of security of Budehuc Castle, Cecile is loyal to her job and even more loyal to the master of the castle, Thomas.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Seong Mi-Na. Cecile fights with her spear.

**22: Kathy**

Franchise: Suikoden

Description: A young girl dressed like a cowgirl, complete with a cowboy hat and brown vest over a white shirt.

Character Overview: A cheery rancher, Kathy would rather tend to the horses than go fight. However, when provoked, she'll pack a mean punch.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Ivy. Kathy fights with a bullwhip.

**23: Jak**

Franchise: Jak & Daxter

Description: An elven man with blonde-green hair and dressed in a blue jacket with dark pants.

Character Overview: The hero of Haven City, Jak isn't one to back down from a fight, even if it means bringing his dark side to life…

Fighting Style and Weapon: Cervantes. Jak fights with a pair of swords, one of which concealing a gun.

**24: Keira**

Franchise: Jak & Daxter

Description: An elven woman with aqua hair and dressed in a white top with brown pants.

Character Overview: A mechanic and best friend of Jak, it has become obvious that she and Jak have a crush on each other, although they have a hard time admitting it.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Sophitia/Cassandra. Keira fights with a sword and a small shield.

**25: Veger**

Franchise: Jak & Daxter

Description: A balding elven man dressed in a regal suit.

Character Overview: A scientist obsessed with power, Veger has a long-lasting hatred of Jak, although the feelings are very mutual.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Raphael/Amy. Veger fights with a long sword and uses it as a rapier.

**26: Li Long**

Franchise: Soul Calibur

Description: A dark-haired man dressed in a blue vest and dark pants. He wears a large straw hat to cover his face.

Character Overview: Thought dead by many, Li Long has lived several years in hiding because he was unable to beat an evil power and was unable to avenge his lover.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Maxi. Li Long fights with his trademark bladed nunchucks.

**27: Berserker**

Franchise: Soul Calibur

Description: A huge, albeit overweight, man dressed in gold armour and a gold helmet.

Character Overview: A soldier of few words, this Berserker is the main line of defense for his people and is not unfamiliar with the story of Soul Edge…

Fighting Style and Weapon: Rock. Berserker fights with a large axe.

**28: Greed**

Franchise: Soul Calibur

Description: An old man with a white beard and dressed in tattered clothing.

Character Overview: A thief, ninja and assassin that has eluded death for many years, Greed is known for his quick hands and deadly moves.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Taki. Greed fights with his kunai.

**29: Revenant**

Franchise: Soul Calibur

Description: A living skeleton dressed like a musketeer, complete with the feathered hat.

Character Overview: An undead soldier of Zasalamel, the forgotten Revenant would like nothing more than to be free of his suffering as a skeleton.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Cervantes. Revenant fights with two curved swords.

**30: Chef Hatchet**

Franchise: Total Drama Island

Description: A tall, dark-skinned, burly man dressed in a green shirt, dark pants, a white apron and a white chef's hat.

Character Overview: Known for his military background and complete lack of any cooking talent, Hatchet is also known to be a massive and dangerous threat as a fighter.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Siegfried. Hatchet fights with a huge broadsword shaped like a knife.

**31: Harold**

Franchise: Total Drama Island

Description: A lanky teenager with red hair, glasses, a blue shirt and beige pants. He has a few freckles and unshaven whiskers.

Character Overview: A nerd with self-proclaimed "mad skills", Harold has proven numerous times that he actually has the skills to back up his boasting.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Maxi. Harold fights with his favourite weapon: Nunchucks.

**32: Heather**

Franchise: Total Drama Island

Description: A teenage girl with a shaven head, dressed in a dark top and beige shorts.

Character Overview: A snobby queen bee at high school, Heather is known to have a different side to her that no one else has ever really seen.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Maxi. Like Harold, Heather fights with her favourite weapon: Nunchucks.

**33: Black Mage**

Franchise: 8-Bit Theatre

Description: A being shrouded in a blue cloak and a large, beige wizard's hat. His skin is black and his eyes glow a bright yellow.

Character Overview: Although he would like nothing more than to destroy the world, Black Mage is often roped into the adventures of his self-proclaimed "best friend".

Fighting Style and Weapon: Zasalamel. Black Mage fights with a scythe.

**34: Fighter**

Franchise: 8-Bit Theatre

Description: A red-haired man dressed in red and white armour.

Character Overview: Not the brightest bulb in the box by any means, Fighter is obsessed with swords and considers the reluctant Black Mage his best friend.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Siegfried. Fighter, true to his fixation, fights with a huge sword.

**35: Hank**

Franchise: Madness Combat

Description: A man shrouded in black wraps, a black jacket and black pants. He wears red goggles that seem to glow.

Character Overview: What started as a simple assassination turned into an eternal struggle for Hank, who meets his end constantly and keeps coming back for more.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Cervantes. Hank fights with a sword, but also carries a gun with him.

**36: Sanford**

Franchise: Madness Combat

Description: A man dressed in a black bandana and black pants. He wears a pair of shades.

Character Overview: A pair of skilled agents, Sanford is the weapons expert, knowing what gun to take on a job and how to do it with as few bullets as possible.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Maxi. Sanford, having been transported without any guns, fights with nunchucks.

**37: Deimos**

Franchise: Madness Combat

Description: A man dressed in a black jacket and black pants. He wears a black cap on his head and is usually seen smoking a cigarette.

Character Overview: The more easygoing member of the agent duo with Sanford, Deimos is the computer expert and driver of the team, although he's more than capable with a gun.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Yun-Seong. Deimos fights with a large dagger.

**38: Tricky**

Franchise: Madness Combat

Description: A green-skinned zombie clown with red hair and wearing a metal mask.

Character Overview: Killed and brought back, Tricky's mind has gone further and further into the realm of insanity and now the only thing he wants is to kill Hank as many times as possible.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Astaroth. Tricky fights with a huge sledgehammer.

**39: Guybrush Threepwood**

Franchise: Monkey Island

Description: A young man with blonde hair and a small beard dressed in a blue jacket and brown pants.

Character Overview: Known as the most-bumbling pirate on the sea, Guybrush has a knack for finding trouble and still managing to get out of things almost unscathed.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Yun-Seong. Guybrush fights with his trusty sword.

**40: Stan**

Franchise: Monkey Island

Description: A dark-haired man dressed in a blue, patterned jacket and dark pants. He wears a large, beige pirate hat on his head.

Character Overview: When not making a sale of questionable worth, Stan is usually found promoting his line of Guybrush Threepwood merchandise.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Mitsurugi. Stan, without a proper weapon, fights with a wooden sword from his shop.

**41: Samus Aran**

Franchise: Metroid

Description: A blonde woman dressed in a suit of orange armour.

Character Overview: A bounty hunter from space, Samus is known for her constant fight against Mother Brain and her lackeys, and still emerging victorious.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Ivy. Samus fights with her plasma whip.

**42: Demoman**

Franchise: Team Fortress 2

Description: A dark-skinned man with an eyepatch dressed in black and red clothing, complete with a black bandana.

Character Overview: Letting a drunkard near explosives is never a good thing, but Demoman is so used to it that he's still able to blow something up even when in a drunken stupor.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Lizardman. Demoman fights with his special weapon, the Eyelander.

**43: Glass Joe**

Franchise: Punch-Out

Description: A red-haired man wearing a black shirt and jeans.

Character Overview: Although he has the worst record in the boxing league, Glass Joe is known for his persistency and will to go on, even after only one win in his entire career.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Raphael/Amy. Glass Joe fights with a French rapier.

**44: Eternal Champion**

Franchise: Eternal Champions

Description: A bald, glowing, blue-skinned man wearing white robes.

Character Overview: A fighter as old as time, the Champion's job is to make sure the timeline continues as normal, but is known to jump into action when there is a disturbance.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Yoshimitsu. The Champion fights with a legendary sword and his style seems to transcend humanity.

**45: Boba Fett**

Franchise: Star Wars

Description: A man dressed in camouflage armour, complete with a helmet.

Character Overview: A ruthless bounty hunter, Boba Fett is revered as one of the best bounty hunters in the universe because of his tactics.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Yun-Seong. Boba Fett fights with a sharp sword and relies on his jetpack to help him attack fast.

**46: Hell's Chef**

Franchise: Gregory Horror Show

Description: What seems like a living candle dressed as a chef. He has a black face with glowing, red eyes and his hat appears to be lit on fire.

Character Overview: A demonic chef from a twisted hotel, Hell's Chef is known for brutally attacking people who don't like his cooking and his intense hatred for smoking.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Nightmare. Hell's Chef fights with his trademark weapon: A huge butcher knife.

**47: Ragetti**

Franchise: Pirates of the Caribbean

Description: A lanky, unshaven man with unkempt, blonde hair and a wooden eye. His pirate clothing is sloppy and tattered.

Character Overview: A bumbling, but somewhat kindhearted, pirate, Ragetti is one of few pirates that will actually think about a stranded man after leaving him behind.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Raphael/Amy. Ragetti fights with his pirate sword.

**48: Doronjo**

Franchise: Yatterman

Description: A blonde woman dressed in an outrageous, black villainess costume, complete with a mask that covers most of her head.

Character Overview: A world-renown thief, Doronjo is almost never seen without her lackeys, as she is known for making them do all the work for her.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Sophitia/Cassandra. Doronjo fights with a black sword and is armed with a skull shield.

**49: Tin Man**

Franchise: Wizard of Oz

Description: A woodsman made out of tin and metal.

Character Overview: A loyal friend and protector of the Emerald City, the Tin Man is always ready to lend a hand, so long as water isn't involved.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Astaroth. The Tin Man fights with his huge axe.

**50: Homsar**

Franchise: Homestar Runner

Description: A small, white being with no arms, a blue shirt and a yellow derby. He is usually seen floating in midair.

Character Overview: The mysterious enigma known as Homsar is a secret to everyone, and most people would prefer to keep it that way.

Fighting Style and Weapon: Lizardman. Homsar fights with a huge drumstick and a large cooking pan, which float beside him.

That's all fifty characters. I won't be going in any particular order; I'll just do who I want as I go.


	2. Cecile

**Fighter One: Cecile**

**(Budehuc Castle)**

The sun beamed down on a small, rural castle in the back corner of a kingdom. This small castle, which looked more like a mansion surrounded by several buildings and stores, used to be completely overlooked by almost everyone in the land. However, after one particular event that involved a war hero setting up hi army at the castle, this castle had since become a bustling tourist location and a place shopkeepers could go to open stores.

A lone guard stood at attention in front of the main entrance to the castle grounds. What was odd about this was that the guard was a teenage girl, dressed in oversized armour and no leg-protection save for a plaid skirt. The spear she held in one hand was taller than she was and the sheld she held in the other didn't look to be in the best of shapes. Even still, the girl stood at attention, preparing to guard the castle with her life.

Suddenly hearing footsteps, the girl snapped to attention and got into a threatening (or at least as threatening as a teenage girl could look) stance. "Halt! Who goes there?" She asked. "Show yourself at once!"

"Relax, Cecile. It's just me."

Cecile quickly got out of her stance when she saw a teenage boy with dark hair and an orange jacket approaching, a sack of groceries in his arms. This boy, in spite of what most would believe, was the castle master and the main reason the castle was as popular as it was.

"Oh! Thomas! My apologies!" The girl, Cecile, said with a bow. "You can never be too careful when there may be bandits in the area."

"Well, I appreciate you being so committed to protecting the castle, Cecile." Thomas replied as he approached. "However, I think you could use a break. I found some different foods for Mister Sebastian to try and use in a recipe. If all goes well, we'll be having dinner in about half an hour."

Cecile's stomach growled as she nodded with a nervous chuckle. "I guess I AM a little hungry." She said.

"Good. I'll just deliver these to Mister Sebastian, then." Thomas said as he walked by.

Cecile resumed her guarding after Thomas had left. She wanted to make sure that she would do all she could to guard the castle, even if she WAS the only real soldier on the staff.

Suddenly, something caught Cecile's eye, making her glance to the left of the castle entrance. What she saw appeared to be a small orb of light that seemed to appear out of nowhere. What was startling was that the orb seemed to be growing and getting brighter.

Cecile took a step back, but stood her ground. "H-Halt! D-Don't come any closer, w-whatever you are!" She threatened.

The orb continued to shine and grow, despite Cecile's orders. The young guard looked positively terrified at what could happen, but stood her ground in the end, either because she was too determined to abandon her post or too scared to run away. In the end, Cecile could do nothing as the bright light engulfed her and blinded her. Just before being blinded, Cecile could almost feel herself getting pulled forward…

**(Forest Location)**

A second orb of light appeared in the middle of a dense forest with no inhabitants around. The orb quickly increased in size and intensified in brightness before Cecile was thrown out from within it. With a loud scream, Cecile landed flat on her stomach, her spear landing on the ground beside her. As soon as Cecile was out of it, the orb of light vanished once again, leaving Cecile stranded.

Cecile quickly got to her feet and looked around frantically. She tried to place her location, but didn't recognize any of the surroundings.

"W-Where am I?" She asked. "What…What was that all about?"

Cecile stopped to think. She was apparently stranded in an unfamiliar place, but there had to be a way to get back to Budehuc. After all, the orb wouldn't have taken her away if there wasn't a way to get back, right?...

"I…I need to find a way out of here." Cecile said as she hastily grabbed her spear from the ground. "But…Where do I go?"

Looking around fearfully with the thought of predators in the vicinity, Cecile slowly made her way into the thick bush of forest to begin her journey…

**(Regal Courtyard)**

Cecile wandered onto the courtyard of a large castle, still unsure as to where she was. She had left the forest long ago, but hadn't come across many people that would be able to help her out. Cecile gave a sigh as she slumped forward, dragging her spear on the ground as she walked.

"Everyone back home must be worried about me. If I don't find a way out of this place, I may be stuck here forever." Cecile lamented. "But…How can I get back if I can't find anyone that can help me?"

Cecile found herself looking at the castle, seeing as how it dwarfed her own home of Budehuc. "This place is huge…There MUST be someone here." She reasoned.

Before Cecile could make a move, she heard footsteps approaching. Spinning around and getting into a stance, Cecile's eyes widened in surprised when she saw an older female approaching, clad in what looked like bright blue spandex, complete with a mask. She was holding a weight in each hand as she looked around.

"Oh! Great! I finally find someone!" The newcomer said. "You…You wouldn't happen to know where I am, would you?"

Cecile blinked. "Wait. You're not from here, either? I was going to ask you if you knew where we were." She replied.

"So Dan and I weren't the only ones to get transported here..." The woman mused. "This is stranger than I thought…"

"Uh…I'm sorry I couldn't help you, but like I said, I'm just as lost as you." Cecile rubbed her head nervously.

"It's fine. In fact, I think I can see a bit of a golden opportunity." The woman replied as she got into a stance, wielding her weights like tonfas. "How about a little spar?"

"W-Wait, what?" Cecile asked.

"If there are more people here, I see this as a chance to fight some new people." The woman replied. "I could use a little more training, anyway. You up for it, kid?"

"Um…Sure. I guess so." Cecile nodded. "It could prepare me for any hostile people here."

"That's the spirit. Now bring it on!"

**(Round One: Rainbow Mika)**

Mika collapsed onto one knee, her weighted tonfas falling to the ground beside her. Cecile stood over her triumphantly, wielding her spear with both hands (since she had been transported without her shield).

Mika gave a chuckle as she fell onto all fours. "You're…You're good." She said. "I…I think…I'll remember you…"

With that, the blonde wrestler collapsed onto her face, out cold. Cecile took a couple of breaths to see if her opponent would be getting back up, and when she didn't, Cecile relaxed.

"That…That was pretty rough. If only I had my shield…" Cecile said before looking around. "Well, I didn't get any information, but at least I know there are other people here in the same situation as me."

With that, Cecile turned and left the courtyard, leaving the unconscious form of her opponent laying on the ground.

**(River Canal)**

Cecile finally found someone who lived in this strange world, and was told that she may be able to find some help at the other end of a long river. Cecile was loaned a large, wooden raft that was said to make it down the entire river in one piece. Without many alternatives, Cecile agreed and took the raft down the river.

Cecile stood on the large raft as she was carried downstream, looking at all of the buildings that stood on the shoreline as she passed them.

"All of those places look abandoned. How long has it been since anyone's lived around this area?" Cecile asked herself. "How am I supposed to find help at the end of a river where no one lives?"

"Hey! You!"

Cecile snapped to attention and found herself looking up as she was passing under a brige. Someone was looking down at her from on top of the bridge, and just before she went under it, the figure leapt down and landed on the raft directly in front of Cecile, making her jump back a couple of steps.

However, when Cecile saw that the newcomer was a man in a bright pink karate gi and armed with a giant oar, her intimidated look vanished and was replaced with a look of confusion.

"Uh…Can I help you?" Cecile asked.

"You defeated poor Mika back there! I, Dan Hibiki, am here to avenge her name by besting you in a duel!" The man replied, trying to sound threatening.

"Uh…I appreciate the fact that you're loyal to your friend, but I don't exactly have time for this…" Cecile said.

"Then MAKE time!" Dan replied, swinging the oar around and getting into a stance. "Prepare yourself, kid! I'm not pulling any punches!"

"I was afraid of that…" Cecile sighed as she got into a stance.

**(Round Two: Dan Hibiki)**

Dan, feeling the full brunt of a powerful kick from Cecile, staggered backwards as he clutched his chest in pain. As he regained his footing, he cautiously stepped backwards as he glared at Cecile.

"You win this round, kid." Dan relented as he continued to step backwards. "However, I'll be back to take double revenge later, both for me and Mika! Rest assured, or my name isn't D-"

Dan paused when he realized that one of his feet wasn't touching the raft anymore. As he started tipping backwards, he suddenly realized that he had backed up too far. "Ah, crap!" He shouted just before he plunged headfirst into the river.

Cecile winced as she watched Dan fall into the water, but relaxed when this meant that she was getting away from him.

"Well, now that that's over, I can get back to-" Cecile said as she turned around.

However, Cecile's eyes widened when she saw a sword coming at her. Cecile lifted her spear and blocked the blow. The attacker pulled away, allowing Cecile to get a better look.

Now standing in front of Cecile was a tall woman with short, blonde hair dressed in a white shirt, red vest and burgundy pants. She held a rapier in her hand.

"What was that all about?" Cecile demanded. "You…You almost killed me!"

"I wasn't trying to kill you. I was only trying to knock you out." The woman replied. "I can't let you get any closer to the source of power."

"Source of power? What are you talking about?" Cecile asked.

The woman seemed to drop her guard. "You…You didn't know? There's apparently a source of untold power in this land. It's what brought us here in the first place." She said. "I need to keep the wrong people from reaching it."

"So you can get it yourself?" Cecile asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm the only one that has a chance to rectify this huge mistake." The woman shook her head as she lifted her weapon again. "If I have to take care of you to do so, then so be it."

**(Surprise Challenger: King)**

A powerful swing from Cecile's spear knocked the sword out of King's hand, causing it to stick into the raft. Cecile quickly jabbed King in the stomach with the pole of her spear, knocking the wind out of her and dropping King to her knees.

"You can't…You can't wield the power…" King wheezed. "You'll…You'll destroy us all…"

"I don't want to wield any power!" Cecile shouted. "I just want to go HOME!"

With that, Cecile kneed King in the face, causing her to black out. King fell back and collapsed onto her back, finally unconscious. Cecile stood over King's downed form, looking determined. Cecile suddenly noticed that the raft wasn't moving anymore, and had reached the end of the river.

"I don't know what kind of power she was talking about, but I don't care about it." Cecile said as she got off the raft.

Leaving King's unconscious body floating on the raft, Cecile continued onward, hoping that she was getting close.

**(Grand Tower)**

It took a bit of searching, but Cecile managed to find a huge surge of energy (mostly by accident) that was spawning from a huge, ancient tower. Cecile figured that, if a surge of energy was what brought her to this land, maybe another could get her back. It was against her better judgment, but Cecile entered the tower and started climbing.

Cecile continued to climb the tower and entered a small, round corridor after climbing what seemed like the fiftieth flight of stairs. The young guard stopped for a moment as she took some deep breaths.

"Why…Why is this tower so tall?" Cecile asked. "There…Shouldn't be…This many stairs…"

Cecile paused to look around the corridor. She saw the next flight of stairs on the other side of the round room, so she figured that was where she had to go next.

"I hope I'm getting close to the top." Cecile said. "Then again, I also hope I'm heading in the right direction in the first place."

"Hold it, kid."

Cecile paused at the new voice and turned around, seeing a figure leaning against a wall. Cecile saw that it was a male dressed in a leather jacket and a pair of jeans. A strange, red mask covered his entire head.

"If you're thinking I'm going to let you at that source of power, you're mistaken." The man said as he approached, holding a pair of bladed nunchucks. "I need it far more than you do."

"I…I'm not interested in power!" Cecile insisted. "I just want to get out of this land and I think this energy may be the key!"

"Sorry, kid. Not believing you." The man replied. "I used to believe people more, but that's what made me what I am."

"Look, I don't want a fight. I just want to go home." Cecile said.

"I can respect that, but you'll need to find another way." The masked man replied as he got into a stance.

"Please. I don't want to do this." Cecile pleaded.

"Then give this up and save yourself." The man shook his head.

Cecile looked down as she grabbed her spear in both hands. "Let me remind you again: I. Want. To. Go. HOME!" She shouted.

**(Round Three: Red Hood)**

The Red Hood flew backwards and hit the far wall of the round corridor. The blunt ends of his nunchucks bounced off his mask as he collapsed into a seating position. Cecile marched over to the downed vigilante as looked down at him.

Red Hood weakly looked up. "N-No…I was…So close…To my revenge…" He said as he blacked out and slumped forward.

Cecile gave a sigh as she looked towards the stairs. "I hope this works. If I find out I've been fighting these people for nothing, I don't know what I'd do…" She mused.

Taking one more look over her shoulder at the unconscious Red Hood (although it was hard to tell through the mask), Cecile marched towards the next flight of stairs and went up them, towards what she hoped was the end of her journey.

**(Tower Pinnacle)**

Cecile emerged from the last flight of stairs and onto the top floor of the huge tower, showing her a grand view of the strange world she had landed in. However, as soon as Cecile made it to the top of the tower, she froze at what she saw.

In front of Cecile, floating in midair, were two swords. One sword seemed to be made of flesh and metal while pulsing with dark energy. On the other hand, the other sword seemed to be made of vibrant crystal and was giving off light energy. The two swords circled each other as they floated in midair.

"Those swords…Are they the source of power the other people have been talking about?" Cecile asked. "Maybe…Maybe they can help me get back home…"

Suddenly, something struck the ground near Cecile's feet. Cecile jumped and screamed as she scrambled to get away from what she quickly realized was a kunai.

"Get away from those swords, child."

Cecile found herself looking up again. An old man with tattered clothes was standing on one of the towers pillars, his white hair and long beard flowing in the wind.

"You are approaching the legendary swords of power: Soul Edge and Soul Calibur." The old man said as he leapt off the pillar and landed gracefully on his feet like a ninja.

"Wait. Swords of power?" Cecile asked.

"Soul Edge is a weapon of pure evil, while Soul Calibur is one of order." The old man said. "It matters not to me, because they are both extremely valuable."

"Wait….Valuable? Does…Does that mean that you intend to steal and sell them?" Cecile asked.

"I am a thief and I know people will be willing to pay much gold for those swords." The old man replied. "Now kindly step aside and let me have them."

Cecile growled and got into her stance. "No way! I was trained to fight lowlifes like you, old man!" She said. "Bandits make me sick!"

"I have spent the majority of my life trying to find the swords, and only now have I actually succeeded." The old man narrowed his eyes and crouched low. "I won't let a little girl like you ruin my only chance at achieving my lifelong goal."

"A goal of becoming rich through thievery." Cecile said, narrowing her eyes as well. "If you think I'm going to let you have these swords, you're mistaken!"

"So you wish for an early grave." The old man grunted as he pulled another kunai from his vest. "So be it."

**(Destined Battle: Greed)**

Cecile stood over Greed's unconscious form, breathing heavily at how close the fight had gotten. When she was finally certain that Greed wasn't going to wake up anytime soon, Cecile gave a nod and turned around.

"I hate bandits." Cecile shook her head as she walked forward, towards the floating swords.

Cecile approached the floating swords in awe. Seeing the bright light illuminating from the swords reminded her of the white light that brought her to the strange world. This also meant that she had a strong feeling these swords could get her back home.

The seemingly-alive eye on the evil sword, Soul Edge, eyed Cecile intently. Cecile tried not to make eye contact with it and reached out for Soul Calibur, the sword of light energy.

However, Soul Edge would not be denied by anyone. The evil sword launched itself at Cecile and flung itself into her outstretched hand, surprising her.

"**It's been far too long since I've had a new host."** A voice hissed in Cecile's mind, making her eyes widen. Soul Edge was talking to her. **"Surrender yourself to me, child!"**

Seconds passed. Nothing happened. Cecile took a deep breath as she looked terrified at what the sword would do to her…

"…**W-Why isn't this working? What's happening?"** Soul Edge demanded, its voice sounding terrified. **"N-No! Her soul! It's…It's too pure! I can't possess her! This is impossible! She's completely incorruptible!"**

Cecile, finally realizing that Soul Edge couldn't do anything to her, tossed the evil sword away like trash. Cecile looked back at the still-floating Soul Calibur and reached out again.

"_Your soul is indeed strong, young one."_ A feminine, soothing voice said in Cecile's mind, putting her at ease. Now Soul Calibur was talking to her. _"Tell me. What is it you desire to have come all this way without looking for the power we wield?"_

"A way home." Cecile said hopefully. "I…I just want to go home."

With that, Cecile grasped the handle of Soul Calibur, creating an incredibly bright light. Cecile felt the familiar sense of being lifted as the light continued to shine.

"_A noble girl with a simple goal. It's been far too long…"_ Soul Calibur said. _"…Child…"_

The light finally blinded Cecile, and the last thing the young soldier heard was Soul Calibur talking to her.

"_You may wield me…"_

…_**She returned to her homeland with the Spirit Sword. No one dares attack Budehuc again…**_


	3. Riddler

**Sonic Phantom: The main reason I'm not doing the fights is because I would have to do a LOT of them. There are fifty characters and they each have five fights. That's 250 fights in total. That would take way too much out of me.**

**Fighter Two: Riddler**

**(Riddler's Office; Gotham City)**

"Welcome back, Mr. Nygma." A dark-haired woman greeted as a man walked into an office door. "I take it you solved your case?"

It was a dark, wet night in Gotham City, as proven by the man shaking some water off of an umbrella before sticking it in a bin beside the door. The man was wearing a green suit littered with question marks, complete with a green bowler hat.

"Of course I did. These cases are getting far too easy for me." The man replied as he passed his secretary. "If I wasn't being paid for my services, I probably wouldn't accept these simple-minded cases."

"Since you started your business, you've become Gotham's best private eye." The secretary reminded. "If they don't go to Batman, they go directly to you. A lot of times, they don't even bother with the police."

"Believe me, I've seen the police. It's no surprise that they'd come to me first." The man shook his head. "I'll be in my office for a bit, so be sure to let me know if I get any calls."

"Of course, Mr. Nygma."

The man was Edward Nygma, real name of a former criminal mastermind called the Riddler. After spending years clashing with the dark vigilante Batman, the Riddler suddenly appeared as a private detective, seemingly reformed. Batman appears to trust him, but keeps a close watch on Riddler just in case he reverts back to his criminal ways, despite Nygma insisting that he is reformed. The Riddler entered his office and shut the door behind him. Walking over to his desk, he took the green bowler hat off his head and placed it on a nearby coat rack. Walking over to his desk, Riddler sat down and gazed out his office window at the poor weather outside.

"Why are people giving me such simple cases?" Riddler asked himself. "They could solve most of those problems themselves, and yet they come to me with those simple-minded tasks and feeble clues. It's like they're not even taking me seriously anymore…"

Riddler's mind wandered back to a time where he was taken seriously, as well as a time where he was respected and feared. Unfortunately, this was back when he was a criminal. Riddler was always in inner turmoil with his decision to go straight. Part of him wanted to go back to the dark side of the law, yearning for the days of fighting Batman and setting puzzling traps for his victims. On the other hand, the other part of him argued that he was a respected member of society and the last place he wanted to be was back at Arkham when Batman defeated him.

"This is indeed the toughest puzzle I have ever faced." Riddler sighed. "Should I remain a private detective or should I go back to my old ways?"

Riddler continued to stare off into space. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice an orb of light materialize outside his office window. Seeing it appear out of nowhere, Riddler stood up and lifted an eyebrow, wondering what the orb of light was.

The longer Riddler looked at the orb, the more he thought it was getting bigger and brighter with every second. Riddler squinted, wondering what the orb was. However, after a few seconds, his eyes snapped open, starting to have an idea of what it was. Riddler could only shield his eyes with a green sleeve of his jacket before the light blinded him completely…

**(Dirt Road)**

A second orb appeared on a dirt road leading up a mountain, constantly growing bigger and brighter. When it grew big enough, Riddler was thrown out of it falling towards the road. However, because he saw it coming, Riddler broke into a roll and landed in a crouching position, staring at the orb.

"A portal. Just as I thought." Riddler said to himself as he suddenly saw his hat getting thrown from the portal. The detective caught his hat and put it on, just as his trademark purple riddle staff was ejected from the portal and landed just in front of him, sticking into the ground.

Riddler stood up and adjusted his gloves. "Well, that was interesting." He said. "I wonder where I ended up…"

Suddenly hearing another portal open, followed by another shout of surprise, Riddler turned to see a familiar figure sitting on the ground, rubbing his head. He recognized the red head mask instantly.

"My, my, my. The Red Hood." Riddler said as he wandered over. "So you too are a victim to these portals?"

The Red Hood snapped his head up to look at Riddler. "Nygma!" He shouted as he leapt to his feet and prepared to fight.

"Not the wisest move, boy." Riddler waved his index finger. "Did it even occur to you that we're no longer in Gotham?"

"It makes no difference where we are, Nygma! I've been fighting you for a long time, and if you expect m to buy that you've changed, you've got another thing coming!" Red Hood shouted.

"We're in a foreign land, Red Hood…Or should I just call you Robin?" Riddler asked with a smirk. "It feels different calling you by something other than what you were when we first met."

"I am no longer Robin! You know that!"

"I suppose so, but you can't deny that we're alone in this strange land with no allies. I know you don't trust me, but the only people we have to rely on out here are each other." Riddler said.

"If you think I'm teaming up with you, then-"

"Very well. We'll work individually." Riddler shrugged as he walked past Red Hood. "I'm definitely interested in solving this little mystery as to how and why we were brought here. I'll leave you be, then. I must be getting back to work, after all."

With that, Riddler walked down the dirt path, leaving a frustrated Red Hood behind…

**(Quiet Pond)**

Riddler looked around casually as he walked into a clearing. He had been walking for a while and had so far not come upon any clues to his self-given mystery. He hadn't even found any locals in this unusual world that would likely assist.

Taking a moment to stop his walking and rest, Riddler looked around the clearing he had walked into. He saw that he was standing near a small pond, and various forms of wildlife were scattered around.

Riddler recognized some of the animals. "Okay. I know I'm still on Earth. That's a start, at least." He mused to himself. "But the question is where…Or when…"

The concept of being in the past had literally just appeared in Riddler's mind, and yet he still thought it was a potential answer. Could this place be in the past? Riddler looked around at the surprising lack of people and huge amounts of vegetation and decided that it was a definite possibility that couldn't be ruled out.

Riddler's ears perked up when he heard the trees rustling behind him. Turning around, Riddler saw a new figure stumble onto the scene. Riddler lifted an eyebrow behind his mask as he studied the new figure, seeing that it was a tall, thin, lanky man with blonde hair and a goatee. He was wearing a blue jacket, brown pants and was holding a pirate sword.

"It's about time I found someone." Riddler said as he approached the newcomer. "Excuse me, but I appear to be a bit lost. Do you-"

That was all Riddler could get out before the newcomer drew his sword and held it out. "Are you a bandit or a pirate? I don't trust you. I told myself I wouldn't trust anyone when I ended up here."

Riddler paused. "Fascinating. It appears we're not alone in this after all." He mused. "Still, since you don't know where we are, I suppose it's best that I just keep walking."

The pirate stopped Riddler from leaving. "I'm not letting you out of my sight until I know your intentions!" He said. "I know that the instant I turn my back on you, you'll stab it!"

"Honestly. Do I look like the kind of person that would do that?" Riddler quizzed.

"Well, you're walking around with a bright green suit. That's already pretty suspicious…"

Riddler stared flatly and held his Riddle Staff with both hands. "Very well. You're asking for this…"

**(Round One: Guybrush Threepwood)**

Riddler kicked the sword out of Guybrush's hand, sending it flying several feet away. Riddler followed up with a swing of his staff, striking Guybrush in the stomach. The lanky pirate collapsed to his knees, clutching his stomach.

"That…Was a cheap blow…You're not very nice." Guybrush accused.

"It comes with experience." Riddler gave a carefree shrug.

Guybrush narrowed his eyes. "You…You fight like a dairy farmer…" He wheezed.

"How appropriate. You fight like a cow." Riddler said simply as he swung his staff again, this time striking Guybrush in the head. Guybrush was unconscious instantly and fell onto his back.

Riddler paused for a moment, as if in thought. He found himself chuckling. "That was actually pretty good. I'm surprised I came up with that comeback so quickly…" He mused.

Standing over his defeated opponent, Riddler brushed his suit off as he looked around. "Well, I clearly didn't get anywhere with him, but at least I now that this whole teleportation thing affected more people." He said. "I suppose I should press on. I should be able to find someone relatively soon…"

With that, Riddler walked off again. A duck waddled up to Guybrush's unconscious form and started nibbling at his hair…

**(River Canal)**

Riddler was never really one to ask for help, especially when solving a riddle of his own, but at the moment, he was still guessing as to where he was and how he got there. Thankfully, the reformed villain found someone that actually lived in this unusual world and pointed Riddler in the direction of an ancient tower. It was said to house an incredible power, so if Riddler was to find answers, they would most-likely be there.

The fastest way to get there was to travel down the river on a raft, seeing as how there wasn't much available for transportation. Riddler was able to find someone who could loan him a raft and he was quickly on his way, floating down the river.

"Okay. Let's analyze the facts thus far…" Riddler mused as he watched the scenery go by as he floated down the river. "The people here appear to be dressed for medieval times and there aren't any modern trends in anything here. The buildings appear new, but old-fashioned compared to what they look like in my era…It's settled. I have to be in the past."

However, now that Riddler had finally made this realization, he now had a couple other dilemmas appear. "Now…How did I get here and…How do I get back?" He pondered.

"That'll be the last thing on yer mind in a minute, laddie!"

Riddler looked up and saw a figure coming down towards him. Riddler backpedaled away as the newcomer hit the raft with a loud crash. Riddler got a look at the newcomer and saw that it was a dark-skinned man wearing red and black clothing, complete with a black bandana and eye patch. He was wearing a vest loaded with grenades and was holding a sword in one hand and a small shield in the other.

"Um…I don't suppose that it's too much to ask what your problem is?" Riddler asked.

"Ya can't fool me, laddie! Aye kin see right through that cheap disguise of yers!" The man replied in a Scottish accent. "Aye know a Spy when Aye see one, and Aye've always had good eyesight!"

"A Spy? I may not have had the best life before, but I assure you that I'm clean." Riddler insisted.

The man laughed. "No way am Aye fallin' fer that!" He said as he looked at his sword. "What do ya say, Eyelander?"

"…_Heads…"_ A haunting voice hissed.

The man laughed again and raised his sword. "Ya heard it, laddie!" He said. "Say goodbye to yer head!"

**(Round Two: Demoman)**

Riddler blocked a blow from Demoman's sword using his staff, then gave him a kick to the chest. The Scottish man staggered backwards a couple of steps, but quickly regained his footing and gave a smirk.

"You give up yet?" Riddler asked.

"Give up? Aye haven't even started yet." Demoman laughed. "In fact, Aye think it's time for me ta finish it with my secret special attack!" Demoman reached down and flashed a maniacal grin. "Kiss yer face goodbye, laddie!"

"KA-BEWM!" Demoman shouted as he lifted the metal flap he was wearing on his belt (which was positioned just over his crotch).

Several seconds passed and neither of the two moved. Riddler blinked in confusion, and a few seconds later, so did Demoman.

"Uh…You were supposed ta blow up…" Demoman said.

"Yeah…Great work on that." Riddler replied.

"Um…" Demoman said. A few seconds later and he turned around and jumped off the raft, into the water, leaving Riddler alone.

"Well…That was rather unexpected." Riddler said, scratching his head. "But now, I can get back to focusing on-"

"Hey, you!"

Riddler turned to look at the shore of the river. He saw a new figure running towards him, then leaving when they got to the edge of the shore. The new figure landed directly on the raft and spun around to glare at Riddler, showing a sword.

Getting a better look at the newcomer, Riddler saw that the figure was an elven female with aqua hair, wearing a white top and brown pants. She was holding a sword and shield and was glaring at Riddler menacingly.

"This is my raft, you know." Riddler said as he got into a stance. "I'm not too keen on people that try to barge in on my business."

"You're after the power at the ancient tower. I'm trying to keep it out of the hands of people like you." The elf replied coldly.

Riddler sighed. "I'm not after the power. I just want answers." He said.

"Normally, I'd accept that answer, but this is just too important to let slide." The woman replied. "You look suspicious, so I need to make sure you don't get any further."

**(Surprise Challenger: Keira)**

Keira swung at Riddler, but the green-clad man proved to be too quick and knocked the sword out of her hand with his staff. Keira tried blocking Riddler's attack with her shield, but that was promptly swatted away as well. Keira backed away, but quickly fell down as Riddler approached.

"A word of advice, kid. Don't jump to conclusions so easily." Riddler informed. "I know you think otherwise, but I'm not after this power like you say I am."

Keira grunted and got into a kneeling position. "The power is too great…" She wheezed. "I need to make sure that people like you don't get it…"

Riddler rolled his eyes and walked over to Keira. He quickly swung his staff down and wrapped the question mark-shaped part around Keira's neck, starting to choke her.

"Maybe I should get it through to you this way. The power doesn't interest me; Only answers to my riddle." Riddler said as he pulled up on his staff, starting to choke Keira. "If I were still the man I once was, I'd have no qualms about killing you. However, since I've decided to play on the lawful side of Gotham, I will only do this enough to render you unconscious."

Keira struggled against Riddler's grip, but quickly relented and blacked out. Once Riddler was aware that she was unconscious, he removed his staff from her throat and let her collapse to the raft.

Riddler suddenly noticed that the raft had reached the other end of the river. Knowing that this was his chance to continue on with his investigation, Riddler walked off, leaving his opponent laying on the raft.

**(Grand Tower)**

It didn't take long to find the ancient tower when Riddler saw a bright light coming from a high location during his travels. Since the white light looked so similar to the light that brought him to this world, Riddler deduced that his way home was at the top of the tower. It didn't take long to get to the tower from the river, but since the tower had so many stairs, it would be a lengthy process just getting to the top of the tower.

Riddler walked up countless flights of stairs before exiting into what looked like a circular hallway. The next flight of stairs was visible on the other side of the hall, meaning that the journey to the top was still not done.

"I have to be getting close." Riddler shook his head and took a couple of breaths. "I still don't get why the tower has so many stairs in the first place…"

Suddenly, Riddler's ears perked up, hearing footsteps approaching. Riddler instinctively ducked as a figure flew over him in a flying kick. The newcomer landed on the ground and spun around to face Riddler.

Riddler stood straight to face the newcomer, seeing him to be a blonde man dressed in denim, wearing a red and white bandana and wielding a red fighting staff.

"Let me guess…You want this strange power at the top of the tower." Riddler deduced. "I'll have you know that I'm not interested in it."

"How can the power not interest you? Everyone I've fought up to this point has expressed interest in the power." The man shook his head. "You have to at least admit that the concept of attaining such power in tempting."

"Maybe a couple of years ago." Riddler admitted. "However, now that I'm what I am, power serves me no purpose." Giving a smirk, he spun his staff in his hand. "Maybe I could have the chance to see how Batman feels to put someone so power-hungry in their place."

The man narrowed his eyes. "I don't WANT the power. I NEED it." He explained. "And there's no way I'm going to let up, especially not to you!"

"Good. I was afraid this was going to be boring." Riddler said with a smirk.

**(Round Three: Billy Kane)**

Billy was thrown backwards, his staff flying out of his hand. Billy landed on his back, and as soon as he landed, Riddler leapt at him and smashed his riddle staff into Billy's stomach. Billy shouted in pain, but appeared too weak to get back up.

"I need the power…" Billy moaned. "Lilly and I…Need the power…"

That was all Billy could do before blacking out. Riddler stood over him silently before glancing at the stairs going up. "The final part of the puzzle is on the roof of the tower." He mused to himself. "This is it. Time for me to solve this once and for all…"

With that, Riddler walked towards the stairs and continued climbing upwards, leaving Billy's downed form sprawled out on the floor.

**(Tower Pinnacle)**

Stepping to the top of the final flight of stairs, Riddler emerged onto the roof of the tall tower. He would have looked at the vast view of the land, but he quickly spotted the source of the bright light and it distracted him.

In the middle of the roof were two swords, circling each other and giving off different tones of energy. One sword seemed to be giving off an evil energy while the other one had an aura of light. A bright light, similar to the light of the portal that brought Riddler to this land, was shining in the middle.

"The light can't be the source of power that I've heard about. It's the same light from the portal." Riddler noted. "It has to be the swords that everyone is after." He took a moment to look at the tempting weapons again. "I can tell that both swords are filled to the brim with unimaginable power. I'm starting to see why some people want them…But that doesn't explain how I got here in the first place…"

Suddenly, something lashed out from the shadows and wrapped around Riddler's ankle. Riddler looked down and saw that a whip had ensnared him. Before he had time to react, Riddler was pulled off his feet, landing on his back painfully. While Riddler was down, the owner of the whip walked into view, revealing a blonde teenager with a vest, denim shorts and a cowgirl hat.

The girl chuckled. "I sure got you good, didn't I?" She quizzed.

"In all honesty, I had a feeling it was too quiet up here." Riddler moaned as he got to his feet. "So what's your story? You just appear here as well?"

"Yeah. Pretty much. Beats little ol' me how the heck I got here, and everyone I've talked to is in the same boat." The girl shrugged.

Riddler lifted an eyebrow, then smirked. "Is that so?" He asked. "So there are a lot of people that got transported to this land and don't know how they got here." He checked. "There has to be a reason we're all here, but the cause of it all had to happen on purpose…"

The girl shrugged again. "Yeah. Makes sense. I've been blaming a teleporter from where I come from since she's got this weird tendency to teleport people randomly." She replied.

"No. There's more to it than that, and I have a feeling I know what it is…" Riddler mused before pulling his staff out. "But enough about that. It's time we fought."

The girl jumped. "Wait. What?" She asked.

"You started it by attacking me." Riddler replied with a smirk. "I now have a need to get you back for it."

"It's called a joke, pal." The girl shot back. "Get a sense of humour!"

"I HAVE a sense of humour, otherwise I wouldn't be who I am." Riddler said. "It's just that I have a VERY delicate ego and it needs repairing…"

**(Destined Battle: Kathy)**

Standing over Kathy's defeated and unconscious form, Riddler tipped his bowler hat to his opponent before turning around to face away from her.

"Not bad, but I've seen better." Riddler mused as he brushed his shoulders off and walked forward, towards the swords.

The two swords seemed to stare at Riddler intently, especially the evil sword with its actual eye. Even still, Riddler remained unfazed and simply smirked.

"It all makes sense. Someone, somewhere, wanted to wield the power that these swords contain." Riddler said, although not really to anyone. "It would obviously be someone not from this land and probably someone from the modern era. A scientist perhaps, because then this person possibly constructed a machine to get them here to attain this great power." He couldn't help but smirk at his own deductions. "However, it is quite probable that a side effect cause the other portals to appear and bring the rest of us to this land, although with no knowledge of what was going on, giving the perpetrator an advantage."

"_You are wise beyond your years, mortal…"_ The light sword whispered in Riddler's mind, slightly surprising him.

"**But you are here to attain this power! Choose me and we will lay waste to this wretched land!"** The evil sword ordered, floating right beside Riddler.

The green-clad man gave a disgusted look and swatted Soul Edge away. "I don't seek power. Not anymore, anyway." He replied simply.

"**You come all this way and fight through the others, and yet you don't wish to wield the great power that I possess?"** Soul Edge roared.

"If you had asked me that a few years ago, then I would have accepted power without a second thought." Riddler said with a smirk. "However, I'm trying to keep myself on the straight and narrow, and taking power would violate several conditions of my parole."

Another bright light appeared, this one off to the side. Riddler looked to his left and smirked when he saw another portal to the side of the two floating swords.

"And would you look at that. My ride home's here." Riddler said as he turned back to the swords. "I have to admit that I was given an extremely puzzling riddle, but now that I'm done, I don't need to stay in this land any longer. Enjoy the rest of eternity without a wielder."

With that, Riddler turned and walked towards the portal, not looking back. Soul Edge's roars of fury were music to his ears as he stepped into the portal and everything went white…

"…_**His personality remained unchanged, but he returned with a newfound resolve to remain a detective…"**_


	4. Deimos

**Fighter Three: Deimos**

**(Somewhere in Nevada…)**

Gunshots constantly rang out through the air as bullets flew back and forth down a hallway inside what outwardly looked like a warehouse. In reality, this building was a top-secret government location, housing what must have been hundreds of agents, all armed with powerful and hi-tech weaponry.

Two people were finding this out firsthand.

A strange, faceless being with a black cap poked his round head up from behind a crate and fired a couple of shots from his pistol, picking off a few of the agents before ducking back down again. This being had a round read floating in midair with no neck, with only a black gross to represent a face. His hands and feet similarly floated in midair with no visible limbs connecting them to the body. The being was wearing a black vest, pants and some shoes in addition to the cap.

"I sure hope Sanford can figure out how to hack security in this place." The man muttered as he shot another couple of agents. "I'm running out of ammo and I've still got a ways to go…"

The being was known as Deimos, one member of a pair of elite agents and the technician of the two. The other half of the pair had gone off on his own to tamper with a few things, allowing Deimos access to his next objective.

Deimos glanced to his right as he was reloading and looked at the bloodied, mangled, bandaged, half-zombified corpse that was on the floor, propped up against the crate. In all actuality, this corpse was his next objective.

This was the corpse of Hank, the best assassin in the corporation Deimos worked for. Hank had run into a series of strings of bad luck, and had met with death on multiple occasions. The corporation needed Hank back in action, and that called for yet another resurrection, although this time it seemed that Hank would need a bit more help to get life back to his body.

Deimos counted enemy heads before ducking back behind the crate. He loaded a couple more bullets into his pistol, got back up and quickly picked off the remaining agents. Once all of the agents were dead, Deimos grabbed Hank's corpse and dragged him towards a nearby door.

"The chamber should be nearby…" Deimos mused as he walked towards the door.

Arriving at the door, Deimos quickly looked around for stray agents before pulling a decoder from his pocket and holding it up to the keypad by the door. Within seconds, the code was cracked.

Taking one last look around, Deimos opened the door and went into the room. However, the instant he opened the door, he stopped. Deimos saw that there was a bright, white light just inside the room, getting intensely brighter by the second.

"What the heck is that?" Deimos asked. "I just hope it isn't an enemy."

Before Deimos could question himself any further, the bright light blinded him…

**(Back Alley)**

Deimos groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. Holding his head, Deimos propped himself up as his blurry vision started to clear up.

"Man. Did anyone get the license number of that truck?" Deimos moaned.

"_IMA DOLT."_

Deimos snapped to attention and looked in the direction of the voice, seeing another limbless being, this one wearing a black bandana, a gray tanktop, shades and a pair of pants. He was giving off a smirk at Deimos. 

"Sanford!" Deimos said as he jumped to his feet and looked around. "Uh…Where are we?"

"No idea, but we seem to be in some sort of town. The portal tossed all three of us out at the same time. You hit your head and passed out."

Deimos looked around. "Where's Hank's body?"

"That's the strange part. The trip through the portal seemed to have brought Hank back." Sanford scratched his head. "He left the alley here to try and pick fights with people. I think he can sense something."

"So, now what?" Deimos sighed. "I didn't get transported with any guns."

"The portal didn't seem to want to bring them." Sanford replied as he tossed Deimos a large knife. "Here. You can use this."

"Thanks, but now what?" Deimos asked as he got to his feet.

"We'll have to split up again." Sanford replied. "You go and see if you can find a way out of here. I'll go try to track down Hank."

"Sounds like a plan." Deimos nodded. "The last thing I want is to deal with an angry Hank."

With that, the two friends bid farewell to each other and left the alley, going their separate ways.

**(Frozen Wasteland)**

Deimos looked around and scratched his head. He was standing in what looked like a frozen tundra, at the mouth of a cave. The wall of the cave seemed to be made out of ice, and even housed the preserved body of a mammoth. Off in the distance, a pirate ship was tipped back, frozen on the surface of the body of water outside the cave.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but Deimos had a feeling that he was lost…

"How did I get here? I thought I was following that guy's directions perfectly." Deimos mused as he looked around. "There's no WAY I'm on the right track if I'm all the way out here."

Unfortunately, Deimos knew that he wouldn't find anyone to help him where he was, so he'd need to do a bit of backtracking to find the nearest town. Turning around, Deimos stepped forward, but suddenly found himself walking through a cloud of mist. Deimos coughed a couple of times and waved his hand in front of his face.

"Where did that come from?" Deimos asked as the cloud vanished from sight. "What WAS it, anyway?"

"A cloud of my fear toxin." A raspy voice hissed.

Deimos turned and saw a new figure slinking into view. Deimos saw that the newcomer was dressed in red and orange rags and was wearing a gas mask. Strapped to his hand was a device that had numerous syringes attached to it.

"What? A fear toxin?" Deimos asked.

"Indeed. Tell me, my friend." The newcomer asked. "What are you afraid of? Do you see your greatest fears appearing before your eyes?"

Deimos cautiously looked around, making sure not to take his eyes off the mysterious man. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but he wasn't about to tell this stranger that.

"I don't know who you are, but you just tried to attack me." Deimos said as he pulled his knife out and got into a stance. "You seem like a sick and twisted individual, and I don't mind putting those types in their places."

"Hmm…Strange. My toxins aren't taking effect yet." The stranger mused as he got into a stance. "Perhaps he needs a bigger dosage…"

**(Round One: Scarecrow)**

Scarecrow's customized weapon soared past Deimos' head, missing it by inches. Deimos promptly gave Scarecrow a headbutt, forcing the twisted lunatic away from him. As Deimos stood in place, preparing himself for another attack, Scarecrow staggered backwards and looked in stock.

"But…How?! I've been stabbing you with these syringes of my toxin ever since we started, and yet you remain impervious! My fear toxin should have driven you insane with fear long ago!" Scarecrow roared. "How are you still standing?!"

"When you consider what people go through where I come from, you tend to grow up with no fears." Deimos replied simply. "And now…"

Deimos jumped at Scarecrow, who seemed horrified that he was facing an opponent immune to his toxins. Deimos kneed Scarecrow in the face, knocking him backwards into the wall of ice and creating a crack in it. Scarecrow collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

Deimos stood over Scarecrow's form, scratching his head. "A…Fear toxin…" He mused. "Interesting idea, but I guess he didn't have the skills to perfect it."

With that, Deimos left the scene, hoping to find someone that could steer him in the right direction.

**(Old Castle)**

It took a lot of backtracking and searching to find anyone with any kind of a lead, but when Deimos finally found one, he was directed at what looked like an ancient castle. He was told that if anyone knew what Deimos was looking for, then it would be whoever was holed up in the castle.

Deimos walked into the foyer of the old castle and looked around at the suits of armour lined up along the wall. Judging by the massive amounts of dust and the decaying architecture of the castle, it almost looked as if the castle hadn't been inhabited for decades, if not centuries.

"Why would anyone think this would be a good place to find someone?" Deimos asked aloud. "This place is freaking abandoned!"

"Not so, my friend!"

Deimos spun around and drew his knife, only to stop when he saw the speaker of the voice approach unarmed. He wore a strange, straw hat and a blue, plaid jacket. His arms lashed out in all directions almost sporadically and the pattern on his jacket seemed to move with his arms.

"You see, I decided to set up shop in this seemingly-abandoned castle for the time being! When you're down in the dumps and in need of a good pick-me-up, just come to Stan's!" The man said in an overly-pleasant voice. "I figure that I try to make an honest buck while my pal Guybrush Threepwood goes off to search for the ultimate power!"

This took Deimos by surprise, as he did a prompt double-take. "Wait. What? Ultimate power?" He asked.

Stan gave a laugh. "Why, of course! Rumour has it that there's a source of near-unlimited energy somewhere in this strange land!" He replied.

Deimos pondered this for a few seconds. A source of incredible power would do wonders where he came from. He could really benefit from a little extra assistance in battle. "Where is this source of power?" He asked.

"Not so fast, my friend. I'm afraid you have no chance at getting this power while my good friend is out there looking for it himself." Stan insisted with a smirk. "But if you insist on going after it, I'll consider it helping Guybrush by keeping you from going any further."

"Uh…What?"

Stan quickly reached into his jacket and pulled out a wooden katana, getting into a stance. Deimos jumped back in surprise.

"Something tells me I'm in for a strange day." Deimos shook his head as he pulled out his knife.

**(Round Two: Stan)**

Stan swung his wooden katana down at Deimos, but the faceless gunslinger managed to block the blow with his knife. Seeing that he had Stan where he wanted, Deimos pushed forward quickly and forced the katana from the deranged salesman's hands. The katana flew through the air and landed on the floor with a dull thud.

Seeing that he was now disarmed, Stan looked back and forth between his discarded katana and the knife Deimos was still pointing at him.

"Looks like you've been beaten, pal." Deimos said. "Now why don't you go ahead and tell me what you know about this ultimate energy?"

Stan's eyes darted back and forth before cracking a nervous smirk. "Uh…Ha! You're feeble attempts at threatening me are quite laughable, my friend!" He taunted. "You may be a good fighter, but it'll take a lot more than that to get Stan S. Stanman to talk!"

Suddenly hearing a loud crashing noise, Deimos and Stan looked in the direction and saw a new figure coming onto the scene. The figure had pushed over a suit of armour and approached the two menacingly.

"Uh…But now that I consider the circumstances, maybe it's time I relocated!" Stan said before grabbing Deimos' hand and shaking it rapidly. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, pal! Good luck in the future and remember that should you ever be in need of anything that can be bought, just come to Stan's!"

Finishing off the speech with a quick flashing of a grin, Stan quickly turned and scrambled away, running out of the old castle as fast as he could. This left Deimos alone with the newcomer.

"Can I help you?" Deimos asked suspiciously as he readied himself.

Deimos suddenly saw that the newcomer was an overweight man dressed in red and black. He was bald, wore dark glasses and had a large mustache.

"My friend, you shall not proceed with your search for the ultimate power." The figure said. "I was searching for it first."

"I just found out about it myself. Where is it if so many people seem to know about it?" Deimos asked.

"It doesn't matter." The man replied, pressing a button on a device he was holding. Deimos watched as the device unfolded and morphed into a metallic scythe. "I will obtain this power and I'll cut down everyone that stands in my way."

Deimos sighed and got into a stance. "Everyone's so angry around here…"

**(Surprise Challenger: Eggman)**

Eggman swung his scythe down at Deimos, but the agent swerved to the side and avoided the blow. Deimos quickly pounced, kicking Eggman in the face and knocking him backwards, making him drop his scythe at the same time.

"How…How could this be?" Eggman asked himself. "That blasted hedgehog isn't even HERE and I'm STILL running into extreme annoyances!"

"Still here, you know." Deimos raised his hand.

"I refuse to lose like this! I'm gotten so close to achieving my goal!" Eggman said defiantly.

"Yeah, yeah. Tell it to someone who cares, fat boy." Deimos said as he leapt in the air and gave Eggman a roundhouse kick to the side of the head. This sent Eggman flying into the wall, then collapse to the ground, unconscious.

Deimos stood over Eggman's body in thought. This man apparently knew about this ultimate power and obviously was willing to stop at nothing to get it. This made Deimos even more curious about what this power was and what it could do.

"Maybe I should look into this more." Deimos pondered as he walked off. "I can't leave something like this alone if it turns out to be real…"

**(Grand Tower)**

Looking into what Eggman was calling the "Ultimate Power", Deimos found himself at what appeared to be an insanely-tall tower that, according to the locals, appeared out of nowhere a few days ago. Deimos figured that this tower was where he needed to go to find this source of power, so he entered the building to start his trek.

After climbing flight after flight of stairs, Deimos exited a stairwell into what looked like a circular hallway. He could see another flight of stairs at the other side, so he knew he journey wasn't done.

"Man. It's a real workout climbing all of these stairs." Deimos lamented. "I…I thought I was in better shape than this…"

Suddenly, Deimos stopped. His years of training in the military gave him advanced hearing, and he was hearing something he thought he shouldn't have. Was the sound…The rattling of bones…? Curiously, Deimos looked over his shoulder, but when he did, he almost wished he hadn't.

Walking towards him, armed with a pair of twin curved short swords, was what appeared to be a reanimated skeleton dressed in what looked like some kind of regal suit. The being's skull was pure white, with no traces of human flesh on it at all.

"…Whoa. That's new." Deimos said. "Uh…I assume that you're wanting this source of power as well, huh?"

The skeleton didn't, or couldn't, reply. It instead continued to step towards Deimos threateningly.

"Look, I may have just found out about this power, but it sounds too good to pass up. I'm not going to give up this chance to a skeleton." Deimos shook his head.

If possible, the skeleton seemed to growl as it got into a stance. There was no backing out now.

Deimos pulled out his knife and got into a stance. He had experience fighting zombies, but it was unusual seeing a skeleton walking around. Telling himself that it was just another undead, Deimos prepared for battle…

**(Round Three: Revenant)**

Revenat's swords clashed with Deimos' knife and locked. Deimos felt himself backing up, which wasn't good, as it showed him this skeleton was stronger than it looked. Deimos made a mental note that the being was probably a strong fighter in life. Telling himself to worry about that later, Deimos shoved Revenant, breaking the lock the swords had on him. Deimos pounced and grabbed one of Revenant's swords while his opponent was stunned.

While Revenant was distracted, Deimos rushed it and plunged its own sword into its stomach, effectively pinning it to the wall it was in front of. Revenant groaned in annoyance as it tried to free itself, but realized that it was getting anywhere.

Deimos smirked. "That should hold you until I go up to the top and grab this ultimate power." He noted. He turned towards the stairwell that was leading up and nodded once. "Time for me to find out what's up there. I have to be getting close."

Leaving Revenant to try and free itself, Deimos marched towards the stairs and continued his ascent…

**(Tower Pinnacle)**

Deimos panted heavily as he climbed to the top of the tower's spiral staircase, stepping onto the open roof.

"I…Am so…Out of shape…" Deimos panted. "Hate you…Stairs…Hate you…So much…"

Deimos paused when he saw what was in the middle of the opened roof area; Two swords floating in the air, each emitting a bright light. One sword seemed to be giving off an evil energy while the other one had an aura of light. There was a bright light forming in the middle of the two swords, which reminded Deimos of the light that had brought him into this strange world in the first place.

"Those swords…Are they the "Ultimate Power" I've been hearing about? That Eggman guy was getting all excited about a pair of swords?" Deimos asked incredulously. "I've seen fancier-looking weapons in the hands of a common mook!"

"If you're not interested, then maybe it's best that you leave them alone…"

Drawing his knife and spinning around in a stance, Deimos saw a new figure, an adult man, walking into view, a sheathed sword at his belt. He wore a white shirt, a dark vest and had blonde hair in an anime-esque hairstyle.

"Another one interested in this power?" Deimos asked.

"Hardly, but that power is the only way any of us can get home." The man explained.

"Wait. What?" Deimos asked, dropping his guard.

"Let's face it. We've each fought our way through a lot of people to even make it here." The newcomer said. "You ever think that all these people we've been facing have been brought here the same way as you?"

Deimos paused. He had heard that some of the people he had fought had also been brought here to this strange place. He also hadn't seen any trace of Sanford or Hank since he had arrived. Maybe they had already been defeated?

"How many of us are there?" Deimos asked.

The man shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that we were all brought here, and those swords are somehow involved." He explained. "I don't know if they're the CAUSE of us all being here, but they have to be a reason."

Deimos paused in thought. Granted, he had never really been one to think about things too much, but after everything that had happened, he couldn't help but be cautious. This brought up some suspicions of this new man, and ones that Deimos didn't like.

"So why are you here?" Deimos asked. "You trying to get me to back away and take this so-called power for yourself?"

"I told you that I wasn't interested in the power, but someone such as you doesn't stand a chance to make things right!" The man insisted.

"You think I'm going to buy that?" Deimos asked as he got into a stance again. "Maybe I should just beat you unconscious just to make sure…"

The man sighed and drew his sword. "So much for the civilized approach…" He lamented.

**(Destined Battle: Reed)**

Reed flew backwards, a victim to a hard uppercut from Deimos. Reed landed flat on his back as his sword stuck the ground beside his head. Deimos waited for Reed to get back up again and, when he didn't, he relaxed and turned around.

"That's that." Deimos said as he approached the swords. "Now to see what all this fuss was about…"

The two swords floated in midair, seemingly eyeing Deimos as he walked over. Deciding that he had seen stranger things, Deimos ignored the stares he was getting and looked around.

"I can definitely sense that there is a lot of power in these things…" Deimos noted. "…I wonder why these other people were wanting them…"

"_Because we are the soul swords, mortal. We will bestow power onto whoever decides to weild one of us…"_ The light sword whispered in Deimos' mind, making him jump.

"What the heck was that?!" Deimos asked. "Are these swords…Talking to me?!"

"**Choose me as your weapon and I will lay waste to anyone that gets in your way!"** The evil sword ordered, obviously trying to tempt Deimos.

"_Don't choose Soul Edge. It will send your world into complete chaos."_ The light sword said.

"**Like YOU are any better, Soul Caliber!" **Soul Edge retorted.

Deimos looked back and forth between the two. "So…I can just choose which of you to wield?" He asked before getting an idea. "Find a way to get me back home and then maybe I'll make a decision."

The two swords seemed to agree to Deimos' bargain and created a portal, which looked like another orb of light like the one that had brought Deimos to this land.

"Thank you." Deimos said. "You were right, though. Looking back at it, I can always use a little extra firepower where I come from."

Reaching out, Deimos grabbed Soul Caliber with his left hand…

…And Soul Edge with his right. Deimos recoiled in pain from the intense power suddenly flowing through him.

"_You fool! You can't wield both of us at once!"_ Soul Caliber shouted. _"Your body can't take the power!"_

Although in severe pain, Deimos forced a cocky smirk. "Watch me…" He said as he yanked the two swords towards him.

The pain surprisingly died down. Deimos stood in place, breathing heavily, holding the two spirit swords in his hands and looking like he was overflowing with infinite power. He glanced at the orb of light that would take him home and gave a smirk.

"With power like this, the organization won't stand a chance." Deimos said, his voice sounding deep, booming and powerful all at once.

Silently, Deimos turned around and strode towards the orb of light, which intensified as Deimos walked closer. The white light engulfed Deimos completely, blinding him…

"…_**The enemy discovered him with the soul swords. Nevada would never be the same…"**_


	5. Jak

**Fighter Four: Jak**

**(Haven City)**

People walking the streets of the post-apocalyptic realm of Haven City covered their heads as a flying bike-like vehicle flew overhead, in the middle of a chase with a few flying robots, which were opening fire everywhere. Other flying vehicles swerved out of the way when they saw who was driving the chasing vehicle.

The pilot of the chasing vehicle was a young man with long, green hair and pointed elf ears. He was dressed in a blue jacket and dark pants and had a goatee of the same colour as his hair. A dark smirk crawled across his face as he chased down the fleeing robots.

The green-haired, elven man jammed the trigger of the gun in his hand, firing a few shots into one of the robots, destroying it in midair. The man gave a dark smirk as he leaned to the side to avoid some shots fired from the remaining two robots and continued to give chase.

"You DID say that you wanted one of them still functioning so we could figure out where they're coming from, right Keira?" The man asked into a built-in communicator on the vehicle. "I can destroy the others?"

"_Yes, but TRY to avoid causing property damage this time, Jak."_ A female voice replied from the other end of the radio. _"If we don't have a location, we won't know who's responsible for this attack."_

"These scarp-heaps have been shooting everything that moves. I don't think there's much more I can do to add to the carnage." Jak gave a carefree shrug as he leaned over to avoid some more shots fired at him.

Jak opened fire again, striking a weak point on one of the two remaining robots, bringing it down and sending it crashing into the side of a building.

"That one's the salvageable one." Jak said as he switched channels on his communicator. "Dax, stop by Second Street when you get the chance. I brought down one of the robots and it should still be functioning enough to give us info." He explained.

"_Got it, Jak!"_ The high-pitched voice of Daxter called back.

This left one robot left for Jak to chase down, and Jak ended up chasing it into an open area with a huge man-made body of water in the middle. Jak chased the robot out into the water so that it didn't have anything to shoot at.

"Let's see…A few shots right THERE oughta do it." Jak said as he pulled the trigger again.

The robot was hailed with bullets and its engine tank was ruptured, causing it to explode in midair, in a ball of fire. His job done, Jak turned around and switched his communicator to talk to Keira again.

"That's all three of them down, Keira. I sent Dax to pick up the one that was salvageable." Jak said. "How are things on your end?"

Jak didn't get an answer; Only static. Jak lifted an eyebrow and glanced at the communicator. "Keira? Keira, are you there?" He asked. "That's weird…The radio shorted out or something…"

Jak looked up from the radio and looked at where he was going again, only to see that there was now an orb of light hanging in midair, and he was flying right towards it at high speeds.

"WHOA!" Jak shouted as he tried to steer his bike so that he would miss the strange orb of light. Unfortunately, he was far too late and Jak flew headfirst into the light as everything went white…

**(Mountain Pass)**

Jak groaned as he sat upright, holding onto his head in pain. He didn't understand how flying into a ball of light could hurt so much. Jak paused when he suddenly felt dirt underneath him and not the pavement of Haven City.

Opening his eyes, Jak saw that he was on a dirt path on the side of a mountain, a place that he felt he didn't recognize at all. The pristine condition of the area around him almost made it look like Sandover Village, the place in the past where Jak grew up, than the half-destroyed forests of the future around Haven City.

"Where am I?" Jak asked as he glanced over his shoulder, suddenly seeing the wrecked hoverbike behind him. The bike had come with him through to this strange world, but unlike Jak, it hadn't survived the crash landing. "My ride!"

Jak raced over to the wreck to inspect the damage on his vehicle, but found that he couldn't make heads or tails of how to start fixing it. His only options were to either find a mechanic in this strange world (which he found unlikely) or brave the elements on foot.

"Looks like I'm walking." Jak said to himself as he looked around. He reached into the wreckage of his bike and pulled out his pistol, only to jump in shock when he saw that his gun had somehow been fused to a piece of scrap metal, making it look like the gun was concealed in the handle of a makeshift sword.

"Huh…This is an interesting combination…" Jak mused, imagining the kinds of damage he could do with a weapon like this. Reaching for his belt and pulling a hunting knife from it, Jak started off, trekking down the mountain with a pair of swords in his hands.

"Time to find out what's going on." Jak mused to himself. "As far as I know, I'm alone. Maybe I can find someone that knows where I am and how I got here…"

Leaving his wrecked bike behind, Jak wandered off with no known destination.

**(Port Docks)**

Jak muttered something under his breath as he walked along the port of what looked like a Medieval town. These people were no hope whatsoever in telling him where he was, but Jak could bet that, judging by the clothes of the people and architecture of the buildings, he was somewhere in the distant past.

However, no one seemed to know anything about the bright light that brought Jak here. These people that lived in this realm seemed just as much in the dark as Jak was. This was easily frustrating the elven man to the point where he regretted coming into this town.

"I've wasted too much time as it is." Jak muttered. "I've searched all over this town for a lead and all I've accomplished was that I completely-wasted my day."

Jak wandered out onto a dock in the port and glanced around. There were a few people walking around here as well, but they appeared to be simply doing their everyday business. Jak also noticed that none of them seemed to be treating him any differently despite him being an elven and no one else around him being like him.

"Maybe one of those merchants knows where I am." Jak mused as he started wandering over.

Suddenly hearing a loud screaming coming from behind him, Jak spun around and instinctively drew his makeshift sword-gun. He saw several people running and screaming from a mysterious new figure that was working through the crowd.

Jak watched as the new figure walked into view, revealing a tall man with a dark, shrouded face and glowing red eyes. He appeared to be dressed as a chef, with what looked like blood splattered over his apron, and had a lit flame on top of his head like a candle. He was carting around what looked like a gigantic butcher knife.

Jak, sensing an extremely-dark arua coming from this chef-like being, approached and drew his weapons. The chef glanced at Jak, gazing at him with his glowing eyes. "My quarrel isn't with you, boy." He said in a dark voice. "Stand aside. I need answers."

"You don't look like you're from here." Jak said. "You wouldn't happen to have been brought here through a portal, were you?"

This caught the chef's attention. "…You DO have answers, don't you?" He asked as he pointed his knife at Jak. "…Tell me…Give me answers!"

"No. In fact, you're telling me what you know, right now." Jak said, eyes narrowed.

"I'll cook you alive!" The chef shouted as he rushed at Jak.

Jak gave a smirk. Looks like he'd have some fun after all.

**(Round One: Hell's Chef)**

Hell's Chef deflected a bullet from Jak's gun with his butcher knife, but in doing so, left him wide open for a flying kick. Hell's Chef received a powerful roundhouse to the face, making him spin around and fall flat on his face in a daze.

"Now that that's out of the way, tell me what you know." Jak ordered. "Where are we and how do we get out of here?!"

Hell's Chef didn't respond and Jak approached the demonic cook to get answers forcefully. However, what Jak arrived at Hel's Chef side to see what he could get out of him, he saw that the blood-splattered being was already unconscious.

Jak sighed in frustration as he stood up. "So much for that. Looks like I got carried away again." He muttered. "Great. Now I either need to wait for this guy to wake up or go on and see what I can find out outside of town."

Jak decided that he didn't want to face the wrath of Hell's Chef when he woke up, so he turned around and left the docks.

The crowd that had gathered to watch the fight stepped aside to let Jak through. The elven man didn't seem to acknowledge this and continued walking until he had vanished from the docks completely.

Looking back at the prone form of Hell's Chef, the crowd looked at each other before deciding that they wouldn't want to be around the maniacal being when he woke up either and promptly decided to make themselves scarce.

The docks were emptied in a matter of seconds, leaving only the prone form of Hell's Chef laying there. Birds chirped.

**(Old Castle)**

Jak wandered through the corridors of an old castle, glancing around suspiciously and one hand on his makeshift weapon (which he was getting to like more and more by the moment), prepared to take on anything that decided to come at him. Judging by the creepy atmosphere of this particular castle, Jak didn't want to rule anything out.

In all honesty, Jak had just found out about this castle. He had finally managed to find a lead, and was told that this castle was a potential hotspot for otherworldly activity. Seeing as how the portal he had gone through could only be described as otherworldly, Jak decided to go check it out.

In his searches, Jak wandered into a large, open foyer with lines of suits of armour on either side, as well as a broken floor on the far side that appeared to drop into a pit. Telling himself to stay away from the pit (obviously), Jak looked around.

"Doesn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary except that this castle appears to be in great condition for supposedly being abandoned." Jak noted, looking around. "I wonder what's been going on here…"

"Nothing good, I can assure you."

Jak spun around and drew his weapon, finding himself staring at a young woman with long, blonde, braided hair and a red dress. She clutched a blue staff in her hands as she approached Jak.

"Are you also looking for the Ultimate Power?" The woman asked.

"Wait. Ultimate Power?" Jak asked.

"Yes. I've heard that there's something in this realm that's the cause of us being brought here from our home worlds." The woman nodded. "But to the point. You look like you would be interested in something like that, if I'm being honest."

"Look, lady. I just want to find a way back home." Jak insisted.

"So do I, but I intend on keeping anyone from reaching that Ultimate Power." The woman said, getting into a stance. "You don't look trustworthy, and this power would be extremely-dangerous in the hands of someone like you."

"You've got issues, lady." Jak said before getting into a stance. "But who am I to turn down a request for a fight?"

"I don't have issues!" The woman insisted as she swung her staff. "I'm trying to save us all!"

**(Round Two: Lilly Kane)**

Jak blocked a blow from Lilly and pushed her back. Because she appeared to be acting for a noble cause (or at least claimed to), Jak made a mental note not to hurt her too much. That being said, he easily countered and overpowered Lilly, even with him holding back.

Lilly tried to attack again, but received a knee to the face, stunning her. Jak quickly picked up the stunned Lilly and threw her aside, causing her to crash into the wall. Lilly tried to get back up, but lost conscious and fell onto her side.

Jak sighed as he stared at Lilly's prone form. "What the heck is this Ultimate Power she was talking about?" He asked himself. "And why is she trying to keep people from getting it?"

Jak pondered this over for a bit. He'd have to look into this "Ultimate Power" a little bit more. Maybe there was a connection between it and a way to get back home to Haven City…

Suddenly hearing a crashing noise coming from behind, Jak spun around again. He saw that a nervous looking man with a mustache and dressed in a green plumber's suit had rather clumsily knocked over a suit of armour while trying to remain quiet.

"…Um…" The plumber said.

"…You heard that, didn't you?" Jak asked.

"Uh…Yeah?" The plumber nodded.

"So I take it that you're going to start looking for this Ultimate Power as well?" Jak asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Of course not! It's sounds way too evil for my tastes!" The newcomer shook his head.

"That's good. One less person to worry about." Jak shrugged as he started to walk off.

"N-Not so fast!" The man shouted. "That lady was right! Someone like you shouldn't be allowed to use it, either! It sounds like it would have catastrophic effects if in the wrong hands!"

"Look, I've got enough problems on my hands, buddy."

The man pulled out a huge sledgehammer and narrowed his eyes in determination. "No way! I'm not going to let you take the power, either! And you're probably tired from your last fight, so I'll finish you and continue to go find a way home!"

Jak sighed as he got into his stance. "Looks like I spoke too soon."

**(Surprise Challenger: Luigi Mario)**

Luigi's huge sledgehammer hit the floor as Jak jumped to the side. Jak quickly swung his weapon, slicing through the huge hammer's handle and bisecting it cleanly. Luigi stared in shock as he held the broken handle of his hammer.

"Hey! What'd you do that for?!" Luigi asked.

Luigi didn't get a chance to reflect on his situation any longer, as Jak kicked him in the stomach and knocked the wind out of him.

"How…You were…You were tired from your last fight…" Luigi wheezed as he dropped to his knees.

"I was holding back against her." Jak reminded simply.

Luigi paused for a few seconds. "…Oh." He said simply before falling flat on his face, unconscious.

Standing triumphant, Jak looked around. "I think I've wasted enough time here." He said. "It's about time I started looking for this 'Ultimate Power' and found out what they have to do with getting me back home.

With that, Jak turned and walked up a set of stairs, aiming to leave the abandoned castle and leaving two unconscious bodies behind.

**(Grand Tower)**

Getting another lead, Jak found himself at a huge tower that seemed to extend into the sky. Whatever this "Ultimate Power" was, it was rumoured to be at the top of this tower, so Jak made a beeline for the tower and started his climb up.

Climing up a seemingly-endless amount of stairs inside the tower, Jak exited one stairwell and stepped onto a breather floor, a circular room in between two stairwells. The stairwell on the far side of the room continued going upwards, so that was Jak's goal.

"How many stairs are there?" Jak asked aloud as he walked towards the next stairwell. "I know this tower is absurdly-high, but this is getting ridiculous." He sighed. "I have to be almost there by now."

His elf ears suddenly picking something up, Jak instinctively leapt into the air as a sword-wielder flew underneath him, attempting to run him through. Jak landed gracefully on his feet as the attacker came to a halt, turning around.

This newcomer was a woman with long, blonde hair, dressed in an over-the-top, black outfit and strange headwear. She held a sword in one hand and a shield with a skull emblem on it in the other.

"Looks like you've got a death wish, trying to kill me from behind." Jak said, stepping forward.

"Look, you're here for the power! I can tell!" The woman smirked. "You wouldn't be in this tower otherwise."

Jak narrowed his eyes. "I have no idea who you are, but at this point, I don't care." He pointed out. "You tried to kill me from behind, and all for this supposed power that's at the top of the tower."

The woman paused, looking offended. "You've…You've never heard of me?!" She asked. "I am the great Doronjo! The best thief in the world!"

Jak blinked. "Sorry. Don't care."

Doronjo narrowed her eyes. "Fine. I'll make SURE you remember me, and THEN I'll go take the power for myself!" She spat. "I want that power, and nothing is going to stop me!"

"I beg to differ." Jak smirked as he raced in to battle.

**(Round Three: Doronjo)**

Doronjo held up her shield, managing to protect herself from Jak's bullets. Taking a swing with her sword, Doronjo lashed out, but Jak avoided the blow, leaping over the sword. The instant Jak landed on his feet, he kicked his foot out, striking Doronjo's hand and knocking the sword from her hand.

"Ouch! You creep!" Doronjo shouted. "Stop that!"

"You're trying to kill ME, you know." Jak retorted.

Jak continued, swinging his sword and striking Doronjo's shield at an angle, knocking it from her other hand. This left Doronjo completely-unarmed. Doronjo, seeing that she was fighting a losing battle, decided to try using her silver tongue.

"Um…You wouldn't…Hurt an unarmed lady, would you?" Doronjo asked hopefully.

"A woman like you?" Jak asked before smirking. Doronjo's eyes widened.

Jak kicked Doronjo in the chest, knocking her backwards. Doronjo toppled down the downward stairwell, resulting in loud and comical shouts of pain being heard as Doronjo tumbled all the way back down the stairs.

Jak, his job done, turned to the other stairwell. "Time to finish this." He said. "If this power can get me back to Haven City, then I need it."

With that, Jak raced off, running up the far stairwell and running up the stairs, hoping to make it to the roof quickly.

**(Tower Pinnacle)**

Jak ran up onto the roof, finally leaving the last stairwell. He saw that he was extremely-high off the ground, and the view of the vast land was spectacular from the roof of the tower.

"Man. This tower is higher up than it looked from the ground…" Jak muttered.

Jak paused when he saw what was in the middle of the roof: Two large swords levitating off the ground, each giving off a very different aura that Jak himself was used to feeling. One was giving off a dark and evil aura, much like the feeling he got from dark eco, and the other was giving off a light and powerful aura, much like light eco. There was a bright light in between the two swords that looked similar to the light that brought him to this unusual world.

"These auras…They feel so powerful…And familiar…" Jak mused.

Suddenly, Jak felt some old feelings awaken…Some primal urges, they felt like. Jak narrowed his eyes and tried to keep his violent nature under control; Transforming here would not be good.

"These swords…They're powerful." Jak said. "Can these be the Ultimate Power I've been hearing about?"

Suddenly hearing the noise of a gun being loaded, Jak ducked as a shot rang out, the bullet flying over his head. Drawing his sword-gun, Jak fired a shot, only to see his attacker dodge the bullet in a similar manner to his own.

This attacker was a strange, limbless being wrapped in dark clothes and bandages and wearing red goggles. He held a sword in one hand and a firearm in the other, much like Jak did. Jak fired a few more shots at the newcomer, only for the attacker to swiftly avoid every shot, leaping at Jak and swinging his sword, which Jak parried with his own sword.

Jak shoved the newcomer away. "What's your problem?!" He asked.

"Stay away from those swords. They are mine to wield." The man replied gruffly. "I've fought long and hard to make it to this point, and I won't lose the chance to get the Ultimate Power to some chump with green hair."

"Tough talk coming from a guy with no arms." Jak noted. "How are those hands of yours floating like that, anyway."

"I'd tell you, but since you're going to be dead in a few minutes, I won't." The man replied.

Jak narrowed his eyes as the two got into similar stances. "Look, I've got no interest in the power, but those swords are my only way out of this place." He said. "I've come way too far to lose here."

"Interesting last words, chump." The limbless being replied as the two rushed at each other, starting a fight for the swords.

**(Destined Battle: Hank)**

What started as a sword duel quickly turned into a firefight, as both Jak and Hank opened fire on each other with their guns, taking cover and dodging their opponent's bullets. Jak, deciding to take a chance, raced straight at Hank while dodging shots and swung his sword. Hank, caught off guard, managed to block the blow, but the follow-up kick that followed sent Hank flying headfirst into one of the pillars on the roof of the tower. Hank, finally beaten, collapsed on his face and was rendered unconscious.

Jak, seeing that Hank wasn't getting back up, sighed in relief as he lowered his guard. "That was a little TOO close." He said as he turned and walked towards the two swords.

The instant Jak got close to the swords, he felt his primal urges starting to surface again. Jak had control over his conflicting dark and light sides for a long time now, and something with these swords was starting to reawaken them again.

"**This boy…I can feel darkness in his heart!"** The evil sword laughed. **"Choose me and we will wreak havoc on all who oppose us!"**

"_No. He's got conflicting sides. I can sense light in his heart."_ The light sword added. _"Boy, if you want to control your darkness, choose me."_

"**Soul Calibur, stay out of this! You want to control him as much as I do!"**

"Enough!" Jak shouted at the swords, suppressing his conflicting sides again. "I hate both my dark and light side, and you're both trying to reawaken one of them!"

Jak looked at his hands. Very briefly, his nails started getting sharper, as if Dark Jak was trying to come out, but Jak again suppressed it. "Taking one of you will cause untold chaos because it will make one of my sides uncontrollable!"

"_You've defeated everyone else! You MUST choose one of us!"_ Soul Calibur pleaded.

"No!" Jak roared.

"**You'll leave us alone, likely forever, with no one to take us!"** Soul Edge snapped.

"I don't care about you!" Jak snapped. "I couldn't care LESS!"

Jak suddenly saw a light appearing out of the corner of his eye. Turning to look, Jak saw another orb of light appear, and form a similar portal to the one that brought Jak to this world. He gave a smirk.

"That's my way out. I can see Haven City on the other side." Jak said before turning to the swords. "Next time you two come knocking, I'm not answering. Forget about it."

With that, and ignoring the angered roars of Soul Edge and the pleas of Soul Calibur, Jak turned and ran headlong into the light as everything again went white…

"…_**He returned home without the swords. He resumed his life of gunslinging and protecting his city…"**_


	6. Eternal Champion

**Fighter Five: Eternal Champion**

**(Otherworldly Realm)**

It was a hard life being the master of time and space.

Floating in a seemingly-never-ending void of space with the ability to watch over all life was a chore in itself, but fixing time anomalies was a whole other matter. As life went by as normal for the beings on the planets in the universe, one otherworldly being floated in place, seemingly in a trance.

This being was bald, had glowing, blue skin and was dressed in robes. This being, the protector of time and space, made it his duty to make sure that no paradoxes would occur anywhere at any point in time. Because there was a similar being out there that existed to contort time and space into chaos, anomalies that could cause paradoxes were a huge threat.

This being, known as the Eternal Champion, was on a never-ending quest to keep the universe stable and the timeline going as it should.

The Eternal Champion, eyes closed, seemed to be concentrating on something. "…Larcen's doing okay…Nothing seems wrong in Jetta's time…" He mused. "That's strange…None of my champions are experiencing anything unusual in their timelines…"

Opening his eyes to reveal glowing, pupil-less eyeballs, the Champion glanced around. "But I can still sense a huge anomaly approaching in each of their lives…Why am I not seeing anything?" He mused.

The Champion floated forward for a while, seemingly in thought. He could sense a disturbance coming from Earth, so that was his destination. If there was an anomaly on his radar, he needed to look into it and act before things got out of hand.

Suddenly, a metal, orange-tintend, sphere-like object flew past the Champion. **"SPAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!"** It screamed in joy as he floated by and vanished from sight as quick as it had come.

The Champion sighed. "Perhaps I should send that thing crashing into the land of Skyrim or something." He muttered as he nevertheless continued on his way.

Arriving near Earth's orbit, the Champion stopped and stayed in place, deciding to put a little more concentration into his efforts. Closing his eyes again, the Champion pondered the anomaly and what could be causing it.

"Maybe it's not the timelines. Maybe something's happening in the distant past that will in turn affect things in the future." The Champion pondered as he set his sights onto a different era in time. It didn't take him long to find the anomaly, and when he did, his eyes snapped open.

"…No…It's impossible." The Champion breathed. "People from all different worlds being brought together in one place…Through time portals? How many are…Oh, no…Forty-nine…That many people that don't belong gathered together in one place…"

The Champion couldn't believe what he was seeing. This type of anomaly would change history not just on one world, but in others. He didn't know what was causing it, but the fact was that something big was causing it. Normally, the Champion's method of fixing anomalies involved bringing those involved to him, but he was dealing with far too-many people this time. He needed to go to THEM this time.

Narrowing his glowing eyes, the Champion held out his hand and opened up a portal in time. "This anomaly must be fixed." He said. "Whatever is causing this chaos, it needs to be stopped."

With that, the Champion flew headfirst into the portal and closed it behind him, hopefully dropping him off in a place no one would see him come in at.

**(Deep Forest)**

Woodland animals wandered through the forest, untouched by human hands. The condition of the surrounding trees made it look like not a single human had traversed this area of the forest yet, making it peaceful for the animals that lived there.

This also made it the perfect place for the Eternal Champion to choose to appear.

In a flash of light, and scaring every nearby animal, the Eternal Champion materialized in the forest, glancing around to make sure no one saw him appear.

"Good. Looks like I'm alone." The Champion said. "Now to get to business…"

The Champion concentrated on the anomaly to see if he could pinpoint the exact location of whatever was causing this time period to go into a potential paradox. After a few moments, he opened his glowing eyes again.

"I can't pinpoint the location. I must not be close enough." The Champion muttered. "This isn't good. I may have to just wander around until I get close enough to find out what's causing the anomaly."

The Champion was about to step forward to leave the forest when he stopped himself and thought some more. The people in this time period would surely be armed and ready to attack strangers, and the other people involved with this anomaly would assuredly be confused and frightened, liable to start fights themselves.

"Maybe arming myself wouldn't be a bad idea." The Champion said.

The Champion held out his hand and concentrated for a few seconds. Suddenly, in a flash of light, a glowing sword with a handle in the shape of a lion's head appeared in his hand. Satisfied with his handiwork, the Champion continued on his way.

"Time to see where I am." The Champion said as he wandered forward and started making his way out of the forest.

The woodland animals watched the Champion go, making sure that he was gone before hesitantly coming out into the open again. A few of them took experimental swipes at the air where the Champion had appeared.

**(Outer Forest)**

The Champion pushed his way out of the forest, slightly surprised at how long it had taken him. Either he was in a time where deforestation hadn't taken its full toll yet or the forest he ended up in was unexpectedly large. Shielding his face at the sudden burst of sunlight as he stepped away from the trees, the Champion found himself near a ledge, which looked out over the land.

The Champion walked over to the ledge and gazed out, again surprised at how relatively-untouched the land looked. Pushing aside his thoughts for now, the Champion instead concentrated to see if he could figure out what was causing the anomaly.

"I'm definitely on the right track, but whatever's causing the anomaly hasn't arrived yet." The Champion said to himself. "I must have arrived just ahead of it."

The Champion peered out at the nearest town, which was a fair walk away. Normally, he would just teleport, but seeing as how he was in an unfamiliar time period, the Champion knew that it would be best to take the long way.

"Perhaps there's someone in the town that has seen anything suspicious." The Champion said. "If I'm ahead of the anomaly, something should be starting to go wrong that people would notice."

Suddenly hearing someone approaching him from behind (trying to be sneaky but failing miserably), the Champion spun around and summoned his sword, which appeared in his hand.

The sneaker shouted in surprise and jumped back, not expecting the Champion's actions (or his blue face, or his glowing eyes). The Champion saw that it was a frail, meek-looking man with reddish-brown hair in a pompadour style. He was holding a French rapier in his hand.

"Are you from around here?" The Champion asked, wondering if this man could give him some advice.

The newcomer shook his head. "N-No, monsieur! I was brought here through a white light!" He said in a French accent. "B-But you are clearly not human! W-What are you?!"

The Champion paused. This man appeared to be one of the people involved in the anomaly and thus didn't belong in the time period. "So you're not from this time." He said as he approached. "Forgive me, but I have to stop you from going any further."

"I-I do not want any trouble, monsieur!" The man insisted.

"I'm aware of that. Unfortunately, in order to keep the time flow stable, I need to keep people like you away from an anomaly." The Champion replied. "I apologize for this, mortal."

The man, still looking scared, nervously got into a stance. "M-Mortal?...N-No! I will not lose!" He said determinedly. "I do not know what is going on here, but I refuse to let you walk over me!"

The Champion sighed.

**(Round One: Glass Joe)**

Glass Joe fought bravely and at his hardest, but he was in the end still no match for a being like the Eternal Champion. The Champion dominated the fight save for a few lucky hits from the Frenchman, but the Champion's infinite experience proved to be the key factor to the winner of the fight.

Parrying a block from Glass Joe, the Champion leapt at his opponent and swung his sword down hard. Glass Joe held up his rapier to defend against the blow, but his block was utterly destroyed by the power of the Champion's attack. Stunned by the attack, Glass Joe collapsed onto his back in utter defeat, a very familiar feeling.

The Champion stood over Glass Joe's body for a few moments, as if expecting his opponent to get to his feet and declare the match still on. When the Frenchman remained down, the Champion stepped out of his stance and willed his sword away for the time being.

"I've wasted too much time." The Champion said to himself. "The longer I leave this alone, the bigger the anomaly gets. Now then…Where am I going?"

Scanning the horizon for the town he had spotted earlier, the Champion set his sights on it. "There it is." He muttered. "Okay. No more distractions. Time for me to start the cleansing for real."

Leaving Glass Joe's defeated body laying on the ground, the Champion started off, walking down a dirt path leading towards the town.

**(River Canal)**

According to the people in the town, a strange and tall tower had mysteriously appeared a couple of days ago. Knowing for a fact that this tower was somehow linked to the anomaly he had sensed, the Champion changed his course and set off towards the tower, which was relatively easy to see since it was by far the tallest structure in sight.

Deciding that it would be quicker to travel by a direct river, the Champion hopped on a raft and floated down a large river, which people said would flow directly to the tower. Knowing that he was on the right track, the Champion looked at the land as it passed by.

"Such destruction…" The Champion muttered as he saw that the condition of the land deteriorated the further he floated closer to the tower. "The anomaly is getting worse. I can sense it."

Knowing that there was no way to speed up his raft to reach his destination quicker, the Champion sat down and meditated, trying to conserve energy. A few moments of silence passed as several questions went through the Champion's head, such as how this anomaly could be righted if it was so big as to cause a huge paradox.

However, the Champion's eyes snapped open as he rolled to the side while still sitting down. Jumping up to his feet, the Champion instinctively summoned his sword again. A huge blade had struck the raft where he had just been, and the owner of the blade hefted it back.

The newcomer, who had apparently jumped onto the raft as it was passing by, was a large, bald, muscled man with dark skin and dressed like a chef. Black facial hair adorned the man's face and he hefted a huge knife onto his shoulder.

"You got some keen senses, buddy." The newcomer noted.

"And you have surprising arrogance, trying to attack me while in meditation." The Champion said. "Not that it would have done you any good. I am incapable of death."

"Look, I don't care who or what you are." The man pointed out. "The only thing on my mind right now is that you're in my way and I gotta take you out."

The Champion narrowed his eyes. "In your way of what?" He asked.

"Apparently, there's a great power at the tower this raft is heading towards, and I intend to make sure it don't get used wrong." The man said. "You look pretty suspicious, with that blue skin and all."

"Very well. The fact that you came to me makes things easier for me." The Champion said as he got into a stance. "I need to make sure EVERYONE looking into this anomaly stays away, and you're no different."

"I got responsibility for two kids while in this world, pal!" The man grunted, getting into a stance as well. "I ain't gonna let either of them die at the hands of a creep like you!"

**(Round Two: Chef Hatchet)**

The Champion had to admit that this huge monster of a man was a better fighter than he anticipated, and he seemed to be extremely-determined to find out what was going on. This seemed to make Chef Hatchet fight even harder. This, couple with his apparent determination to protect a couple of kids he was transported with, at least made the Champion respect him a little.

That being said, it did little to affect the outcome of the fight. Dodging a hard swing from Chef Hatchet, the Champion lashed out with his foot, spinning around as he did. Striking the distracted Chef squarely in the jaw, the Champion as the larger man staggered back a couple of steps before falling backwards and landing flat on his back, where he remain defeated.

"You were a good fighter, and I wish you luck in your goal to protect the ones you came with." The Champion said, bowing his head in respect to Chef. "But you are still someone searching for the anomaly, and someone that must be kept from going there."

"HI-YAAAH!"

The Champion looked up and saw a new figure leaping off a low-hanging bridge as the raft floated by underneath. The Champion backpedaled away as the new figure hit the raft, striking it with a staff.

The Champion got a better look at his attack as he stood upright, revealing himself to be a blonde man wearing a bandana and dressed in blue denim. He clutched a red staff in his hands and appeared ready to continue his assault.

"Ya gotta stay away from that power, mister!" The man shouted.

The Champion blinked. "Power? You think that whatever is in that tower is POWER?" He asked incredulously.

"I know it is, mate! That kind of power is what I need to survive, and I intend to keep it away from anyone trying to get at it!"

The Champion got into his stance again. "I have no interest in this so-called 'power', my friend." He assured. "Whatever it is, it needs to be destroyed."

The man snarled. "Didn't ya HEAR me?!" He demanded. "I NEED the power! I ain't letting ya anywhere NEAR it now that I know you just wanna destroy it!"

The Champion sighed. "Another one so easily led astray." He said as he prepared to fight again.

**(Surprise Challenger: Billy Kane)**

Billy fought furiously, and the Champion knew that he was determined to get to this apparent 'power' for likely the wrong reasons. Of all the people the Champion wanted to keep away from this anomaly, Billy was probably one of the people he wanted away from it the most.

This battle required a lot of the Champion's concentration due to Billy's speed and unpredictable attack pattern, but the instant Billy left himself open, the Champion struck. With a knee to the stomach, Billy dropped his guard, which gave the Champion the chance he needed to grab the younger man by the scruff of his neck.

"Let me repeat this to you, boy. This 'power' you seek iss not what you think it is." The Champion warned. "I'm here to fix an anomaly that is obviously the source of everything that's happened, and I won't let a mortal stand in the way."

Billy coughed in the Champion's grip. "No…You don't understand." He tried to get out.

"I understand enough. I'm the keeper of order." The Champion said as he tossed Billy over his shoulder, causing him to land on Chef's still-defeated body.

His job done, the Champion saw that the raft was approaching the end of the river, very close to the tower he was directed to in the first place. He sighed and stepped off the raft.

"There's the tower. Whatever the anomaly is, it's in the tower somewhere." The Champion said as he made his way towards the tower.

**(Grand Tower)**

What the Champion quickly noticed was that the anomaly was getting bigger and more-noticeable with every step he took. While this told the Champion that he was getting close, it also told him that he was running dangerously short on time. Wasting no time, the Champion started making his way up the stairs of the tall tower.

Reaching the top of a staircase, the Champion emerged into a breather floor, which consisted of a round room in between two stairwells, the one leading up clearly visible on the far side of the room.

"The anomaly is clearly at the top of the tower. It's getting stronger as I ascend." The Champion said to himself.

Knowing that his quest to fix the anomaly was almost over, the Champion stepped forward, walking towards the far stairwell. He couldn't stop now, even if he wanted to. There was too much on the line and it was getting too close for comfort.

"Don't make a move."

The Champion froze and slowly looked over his shoulder to see a new figure pointing what looked like a futuristic pistol at him. The new figure was a woman with blonde hair done into a ponytail, dressed in orange armour that covered all of her body save for her head.

"You're after the power as well, aren't you?" The woman asked.

"No. I'm here to destroy it." The Champion assured, turning around to face the woman. "I don't suppose that you'll let me do so, however."

"You'd be guessing right." The woman said as she stepped forward. "After spending so long dealing with space pirates, I guess it's just made me untrusting. Now then, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going on to collect this…Power. For something to send so many people into a panic or rage, it would make a fantastic weapon against the pirates I deal with."

The Champion narrowed his eyes, summoning his sword and swinging at the woman while she was close. The sword slashed the woman's armour, making her jump back and feel for wounds.

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Fine. I see how it is." She said as she pressed a button on the side of her firearm, turning it into a plasma whip. "I'll do this the hard way: Beat you first and THEN go to collect the power source."

"Whatever this is, it's NOT something to be toyed with." The Champion said as he rushed at the woman, who snapped her whip at him.

**(Round Three: Samus Aran)**

Samus rolled to the side to avoid a blow from the Champion. The otherworldly being realized that she was putting up a far-better fight than the others. The Champions realized that she indeed had a lot of experience fighting beings stronger than her. However, that just made her a harder opponent to beat. The Champion just needed to exploit a weakness.

While the Champion was distracted, Samus lashed out with her whip, snatching the Champion's sword. Samus tried to pull the weapon out of the Champion's hand, but the blue-skinned being held firm, instead pulling back to keep the blade from leaving his hand.

"Hmph. So it's come down to a tug-of-war, has it?" Samus asked.

The Champion paused, then sighed. "No." He said. "I apologize in advance for this, young lady."

Samus lifted an eyebrow. "What?" She asked.

The Champion closed his eyes and concentrated, sending a wave of energy through his sword, which in turn traveled along Samus' whip. Samus received a powerful electric shock from the recoil, causing her to shout in pain as the power exploded in her face.

When the Champion opened his eyes again, Samus stood in place, wavering for a few seconds before finally collapsing on her face, unconscious. The recoil from the Champion's energy was enough to finally end the battle.

"I hope that was the last one." The Champion said as he turned towards the stairs. "I'm closer than ever, but one more fight may make it too late."

With that, the Champion continued towards the ascending stairwell, continuing upwards towards the roof, where the anomaly was supposedly stationed.

**(Tower Pinnacle)**

The Champion stepped out of the final stairwell and onto the roof of the tall tower, overlooking the vast land. Needless to say, the view was the last thing on the Champion's mind at the moment.

"Okay. At the top." The Champion said. "Now to find…The…"

The Champion stopped when he saw what was on the roof: Two large swords, each floating in the air around each other and emitting a different aura. One was giving off a dark aura of evil and the other a lighter, but still not purely-good, aura of order. To anyone else, these swords were a complete enigma, but the Champion knew exactly what these swords were.

"Soul Calibur and Soul Edge. They were at the top of this tower?" The Champion asked, having known about the soul swords since they were forged eons ago. "Could they be what's causing the time anomaly? Did…Did they summon all those people here as potential hosts?"

Suddenly hearing a teleporting noise from behind, the Champion turned around to see a new figure silently rise up from a ripple-like portal on the ground. He was a young-looking man with blonde hair done into a long braid, and was dressed in a black suit, complete with a black hat.

"Give me the swords." The man said darkly. "If you value your miserable life, stand aside."

Again, the Champion knew who this figure was. "Yuber. The agent of chaos." He said darkly.

The man, identified as Yuber, lifted his head and revealed mismatched eyes, giving an evil smirk. "Looks like my reputation precedes me." He noted.

"Hardly. The Dark Champion created you ages ago in an attempt to send the world into complete chaos." The Champion said as he stepped forward.

"Created? You mean that I was created by some otherworldly being? I was meant to destroy everything?" Yuber spat. "Well, I haven't accomplished that yet, have I?" He asked. "I have a persistent follower that is intent on my destruction."

The Champion smirked. "Yes. Pesmerga. I created HIM to bring balance and keep you from destroying the world and sending it into the apocalypse." He said.

Yuber froze. "Wait. YOU'RE the reason Pesmerga's constantly trying to hunt me down and kill me like a dog?!" He asked.

Two blades suddenly shot out of Yuber's sleeves, with the black-clad man catching them by the handles. "This is good. Destroying you will be an added bonus in addition to taking the swords and the power they contain."

"You are a tool of destruction, Yuber." The Champion said as he summoned his sword. "If I erase you from existence, the world will be a better place."

**(Destined Battle: Yuber)**

Yuber was fighting ferociously, which was to be expected considering who he was fighting. The Champion found himself mainly on the defensive throughout the fight and was allowed to attack at only a few key points during the battle. However, Yuber got careless at the wrong point and left himself open for an attack after missing his target, and this allowed the Champion to use his otherworldly sword. The Champion slashed at Yuber, striking him with enough force to send the madman flying away. Yuber crashed onto his side and, in a daze and struggling to remain conscious long enough, sank into a puddle-like portal the same way he came back in, vanishing from sight the instant he saw that he wasn't going to win. Yuber had escaped.

Seeing that Yuber had fled the scene, the Champion sighed as he willed his sword away. "I was so close." He said. "So close to finally ending the chaos that should never have been." He lamented as he turned and walked towards the swords.

The Champion approached the soul swords and stood a few feet away, arms folded. "Attention, soul swords." He said. "I have some questions that need answering."

"**It's the keeper of time!" **Soul Edge said in a panic.

"Calm yourself, Soul Edge. I'll get right to the point." The Champion said. "Many people were brought to this land, thus creating a huge anomaly in time."

"_Are you suggesting that it was us that brought them here?"_ Soul Calibur asked.

"You are both desperate for a wielder. Why would I not think that you summoned all of those people to this land just so you could have someone to take you up?" The Champion quizzed.

"_We had nothing to do with transporting people to this land."_ Soul Calibur assured. _"We can summon people to this location, but we can't extend our reach beyond our time."_

"So something else was causing the anomaly." The Champion said.

"**Yeah. One of the people that was transported here created the whole mess and the rest were brought along as some kind of side effect."** Soul Edge replied. **"Since it was basically a race for them to wield one of us, we went with it."**

The Champion paused, narrowing his eyes. Try as he might, he couldn't find any lies in the swords' words because he'd know if they were lying to him. "Very well. So where do I find this person?" He asked.

"_If we're right, the person responsible was already defeated."_ Soul Calibur said. _"See for yourself if you want."_

The Champion concentrated and, to his amazement, found that the anomaly had vanished almost completely during his fight with Yuber. "All those people returned to their own time…The paradox is averted." He explained. "Oh, thank goodness."

"_If you're satisfied, then please leave us!"_ Soul Calibur urged.

"**Yeah! And don't even THINK about trying to destroy us!"** Soul Edge continued.

The Champion glanced at the swords. "I'll leave you with these words, swords of evil. Believe me; Your destruction is imminent." He explained. "I'm just not meant to be the one to do it."

Without giving the swords a sideways glance, the Champion turned around and walked towards the edge of the tower. Looking up into the sky, the Champion leapt off the tower, turned into a ball of light and flew off into space again, back where he came from.

…It was like he was never there at all.

"…_**He returned to his duties as the keeper of time and order. Time, under his watch, would never fall to another anomaly…"**_


	7. Samus

**Fighter Six: Samus**

**(Karaya Village)**

The people of the Grassland Tribe of Karaya walked around their small, quiet village on a peaceful day. This village was full of life despite it looking like the people of this village didn't have much to live on. This was basically the truth, as they lived off the land due to them being one of the founding tribes of the fantasy-styled land they occupied.

Hunters walked into the village with dead bodies of feral animals, which would be used for food later by the various families in the tribe. Children ran between huts, playing simple games and having fun on the great day. The children, while running, ran past a particular member of this tribe.

This man was tall, had dark skin and had a head of silver hair. He was dressed in patchwork materials consisting of colours like orange, brown and black, and a thick was sheathed at his side. He shielded his eyes from the sun as he walked out of the hut he had set up with his wife as he walked towards the front gates of the village.

This man's name was Samus, and although he wasn't a member of the village until he had left a neighboring kingdom of Tinto, he was born and raised in this particular village. After returning to his homeland, Samus settled down with his childhood crush, a woman named Anne, and resumed his life as a member of the tribe.

Samus walked out to the hunters that were coming back with the animals and looked at what they had brought. "Anything of interest today?" He asked. "It looks like today's hunt was a success."

"Sort of. We got a lot of rabbits and a few boars, but nothing really out of the ordinary." One of the hunters explained. "You probably made the right choice in not going. You'd probably get bored."

Samus smirked. "Come on. My wife's six-months pregnant at this point." He reminded. "I can't go out hunting all the time when I need to take care of her."

"Anne's lucky to have to around, Samus." The hunter shook his head. "I still can't believe that she waited for you to come back all those years."

Samus nodded. He was also a bit surprised how Anne, his best friend when they were young, remained single through adulthood. He was actually expecting her to have already settled down by the time he saw her again, but that wasn't the case.

"Well, let me know when you guys are going hunting again." Samus said. "I'll see what's happening and-"

"Incoming! Incoming!"

Samus and the people present turned to look and saw a young man running through the village, looking flustered.

"Is there an invasion?!" Someone asked.

"A ball of light appeared in the middle of the village!" The young man replied. "It…It looks like a magic spell! It's in the back of the village!"

Samus' eyes widened. "Anne!" He shouted as he pushed his way past a few people and ran towards his hut, leaving everyone else standing there. It didn't take Samus long to reach his hut again due to the village being so small, but he indeed saw a ball of light floating dangerously close to his hut.

Samus snarled as he drew his Karayan blade. "Back away from my home!" He shouted as he rushed at his hut. He raced at the light and swung his sword, hoping to cancel the magic spell, whatever it was. However, the instant Samus got too close, everything went white.

**(Mountain Path)**

"Samus…Samus, get up…"

Samus stirred as he opened his eyes. Holding onto his head, Samus sat up, wondering what the heck happened. Suddenly remembering that someone had just called for him, Samus looked around and quickly saw a blonde man with a unique hairstyle: His best friend Reed.

"Reed! Man, what the heck happened?" Samus asked. "What happened at the village? Is…Is Anne alright?!"

"Samus, look around." Reed said. "We're not in the Grasslands anymore."

Samus froze and looked around, seeing that he was indeed in an unfamiliar, but still fantasy-styled, land. The two stood on a mountainous path that overlooked a vast land with medieval architecture and plenty of forestry.

"How…How did this happen?" Samus asked. "I was…Teleported from Karaya!"

"I figured that. I was in Budehuc with Kathy when that white light appeared. The next thing I know, I'm here." Reed nodded. "I don't know where we are in the slightest."

Samus paused, then sighed. "Then I guess the only thing we can do is find a way out of here, right?" He asked. "Great. I'm on a severe time limit as it is."

"What's the occasion?"

"Anne's due any day now."

Reed blinked a few times. "Wow, man. I know we live on opposite sides of the Grasslands, but why didn't you think to let me know?" He joked.

"If it makes any difference, Budehuc was going to be our first stop after Anne gives birth." Samus replied. "Anyway, I guess we should start looking around."

"We may have to go our separate ways, Samus. I think Kathy was brought here with me and I haven't seen heads or tails of her since I arrived." Reed said. "I'm sorry, but I need to look around some more and it looks like you're going to where I'd already been to look."

"I understand, Reed. I'll carry on and see what I can dig up."

The two friends bid farewell and walked off in opposite directions, each carefully wielding their sword in this unfamiliar land.

**(Lakeside Cabin)**

Samus continued down the mountain path, wondering if he could find anyone that could tell him where he was. He had a feeling that he'd look like an idiot if he asked people where he was, but at this point, since he was completely-clueless about his surroundings, he didn't really have much of a choice.

"I need to find a way back home. The sooner I can do that, the sooner I can leave this place." Samus muttered as he walked down the mountain.

At the bottom of the mountain was a lake. It was a rather large lake and the water looked especially clear, but what caught Samus' eye the most was the log cabin off to the side a good ways away. If there was someone at that cabin, he might just get lucky and get directions.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Samus asked as he approached the cabin. "I'm just…I'm just a bit lost and I could use directions."

Samus didn't get an answer from the cabin. Samus walked closer as he continued his calling. "Hello? Is there anybody there?" He asked, still not getting an answer.

Samus prodded around the property, trying to see if there was truly no one around before giving up and moving on. Peering into the window, Samus saw that the cabin was indeed empty. He sighed and started walking away/

"So much for that. Looks like I'm back to square one." Samus said.

Suddenly hearing something, Samus stopped. Listening to the sound closely, Samus heard what sounded like a woman crying. Looking around, Samus saw a blonde woman with a red dress and a braid approaching, sniffing and looking around fearfully.

"Finally. Someone else." Samus said as he approached the woman. "Excuse me, ma'am. I seem to be a bit lost."

The woman stared at Samus. "Y-You too?" She asked. "Oh, no. I…I was hoping you'd know where I was."

"So Reed and I weren't the only ones brought here." Samus noted. "Well, come on. We may as well try to stick together and find a way out of here."

Samus approached the woman, who quickly drew a staff and swung it at him. Samus shouted and ducked under the blow. "What the heck was that for?!" He demanded.

"No…I won't believe you! You say that you're in the same predicament as I am, but you're just saying that to get me to trust you!" The woman shouted. "Oh, how could things be going so badly for me?!"

"Lady, you've got it all wrong!"

"I'm lost in a world I know nothing about, I don't know how to get back, I have no idea where Billy is and everyone here seems intent on killing!" The woman said, more to herself. "No! I refuse to be taken advantage of out here!"

Samus sighed and drew his sword. He told himself to keep himself from hurting this crazy woman…

**(Round One: Lilly Kane)**

Lilly fought Samus with anger, which in turned Samus used against her as she was easily tiring herself out during the fight in a desperate attempt to keep herself away from Samus. Samus had to admit that it was hard to get close enough to Lilly since her staff gave her twice the reach as he did, but he managed to get some crucial hits in.

Not wanting to let herself get beaten (she still needed to find her brother, after all), Lilly swung at Samus with a horizontal slash, hoping to strike him in the side of the head and disorient him, but the dark-skinned man easily ducked under the blow and cause Lilly to spin around slightly in an attempt to stop herself.

Samus, seeing his chance, kicked at Lilly, catching her in the stomach and stunning her. Samus quickly grabbed Lilly and threw her aside, causing the blonde woman to trip and hit her head on the ground, rendering the disoriented woman unconscious. Samus waited a few seconds before silently sheathing his sword again.

"I hated doing that, but I don't think she would have listened to reason there." Samus muttered to himself. "Well, now what?"

Seeing as how there still wasn't anyone around, Samus figured that his best bet to find out where to go would be to find a town and ask around there. Although he wasn't sure where a town would be in this strange land, Samus figured that if he got to a higher ground, he'd see where to go next.

"I guess it's better than nothing." Samus said with a shrug as he walked on. "The sooner I find a town, the sooner I find answers."

**(River Canal)**

Samus eventually stumbled upon a town, and the inhabitants seemed to have an understanding on what could be done. All directions pointed to a large tower that extended to the sky, where some kind of strange power was laying. If this source was as powerful as the people claimed it to be, then Samus bet that he could get some answers or find a way back if he went to this tower.

The quickest way to travel to the tower was through a winding river canal, manning a large raft. Samus didn't trust the rickety raft to take him the entire way, but he had to admit that the currant of the river was carrying him downstream much faster than he could move by foot.

"Whatever's at this tower, it can't be good." Samus muttered to himself. "If it's got this many people interested in it, it'll be a chore just GETTING to it."

Samus pondered his situation a little more. From the looks of things, he had indeed been taken to a completely-different land than his own, but he wasn't sure where he was. He had traveled a lot, and he could admit that this land was completely unfamiliar to him.

"It's almost as if I'm in a completely-different world." Samus muttered. "But how the heck did this even happen?"

Suddenly hearing a noise coming up from behind, almost like a guttural growl, Samus spun around and instinctively drew his sword. However, his eyes widened with shock at what he saw which took him completely by surprise.

A being was climbing out of the river and onto the raft with Samus. It was quickly discovered that this being was, in fact, a skeleton dressed in what looked like a nobleman's outfit. Soaking wet from walking along the bottom of the river, the skeleton stood up to full height and stared at Samus with empty eye sockets.

"…Wow…Okay, now I KNOW I'm in a completely-different world." Samus said.

The skeleton silently drew a pair of curved swords and got into a stance, as if challenging Samus to attack it. Samus seemed to eye the skeleton for a moment before relenting and getting into a stance himself.

"Okay. Looks like I've got no way out of this." Samus mused. "Considering I'm on a raft and all."

The skeleton didn't, or couldn't, make a comment to Samus. It simply reared back, let out a roar and charged headfirst at Samus, swinging its swords.

**(Round Two: Revenant)**

Revenant swung one of its swords at Samus, which the dark-skinned man easily deflected. Revenant tried again with its other sword, but Samus jumped back and let Revenant miss the attack completely. Samus tried to attack while Revenant was distracted, but the skeleton saw the attack coming and blocked the blow with both swords, effectively locking all three weapons together.

Samus struggled to break his sword away from Revenant's grip, mainly because staring into a pair of empty eye sockets was a little off-putting. Yanking his sword back and freeing it from the weapon lock, Samus swung hard and horizontally, striking Revenant's neck and decapitating the skeleton. Revenant's skull bounced off the raft and fell into the river.

Amazingly, this didn't kill the skeleton, but Revenant instantly dropped what it was doing and comically felt around the raft for its skull. Finally reaching the edge of the raft, the headless skeleton fell off the raft and tumbled headlong back into the river after its skull, leaving Samus alone on the raft again.

Samus sighed in relief and sheathed his sword. "Man. That was weird." He said. "But now that that's done, I guess there's nothing else to do but-"

"Hey, you!"

Samus turned towards the shore, which the raft was getting close to as it went around a turn. He saw a new figure, this one a female, on the shore, and one that easily jumped onto the raft as it was passing by. Samus saw that this new figure was a bald, young woman wearing a purple top and a pair of shorts.

"I sure hope you don't mind me hitching a ride on your raft." The woman said with a taunting smirk. "Makes the trip to the tower that much easier."

"I don't recall giving you permission to stowaway." Samus said, eyes narrowed.

"Too bad, so sad. I've already done it." The girl handwaved it. "Besides, I can't have you getting near that power now, can I?"

Samus watched as the girl pulled a pair of nunchucks into the open and sighed. "I don't want any problems, but if you're intent on stopping me, then I've got no choice but to retaliate and defend myself." He said as he pulled his sword out again.

"You'll regret this." The woman smirked.

**(Surprise Challenger: Heather)**

Heather lashed out with her nunchucks several times, but Samus was able to block most of the blows with his sword and keep her at bay. Heather was a fast fighter, and Samus had few chances to attack, but when he was able to, he managed to slip a hit or two in before Heather could react.

Seeing that her attacks weren't getting her anywhere, Heather growled and reached out, grabbing Samus' shoulder and leaping over him, kicking him in the back on her way down. Samus staggered forward, but spun around and lashed out with the handle of his sword, striking Heather in the forehead and making her stagger back as well. Seeing his chance, Samus rushed as Heather, grabbed her by her shirt and held her in the air.

"H-Hey! Let me go, you creep!" Heather shouted.

Samus smirked. "Okay."

Heather eyes widened as she looked down while Samus was holding her up, seeing that Samus was holding her off the edge of the ramp and over the river. "W-Wait! No!" She said, but Samus had already let her go, dropping Heather into the river and sailing away on his raft as Heather was left behind in the river.

Samus sighed in relief as he looked ahead, seeing that the tall tower off in the distance was getting closer. The two back-to-back fights had passed time rather quickly and it seemed like he would reach the end of the river in a few more minutes.

"Time to see what's going on." Samus said as he readied himself. "Whatever's waiting for me in that tower can't be good…"

**(Grand Tower)**

It seemed that the tall tower was nothing but endless sets of stairs that continued to spiral upwards. Samus continued upwards, knowing that if there wasn't anything in the tower itself, it was likely used to house this power on the roof. Samus continued to climb the stairs, although the tedious task of climbing stairs became tiresome after a short while.

Reaching the top of another seemingly-endless staircase, Samus emerged onto a breather floor, which looked like a round, rather empty room with another staircase on the other side of it. Samus looked around and took a couple of breaths after the jog up the stairs.

"Why does is this tower so tall if there's nothing in it?" Samus asked. "It's been almost nothing but stairs the entire way up!"

Samus sighed as he started making his way towards the far staircase. It was tempting to rest up, but after everything that'd happened, he figured that he'd have time to rest when he got back home.

Samus took a few steps forward and suddenly heard the sound of clanging metal, which cause him to spin around and draw his sword again, expecting to see someone in a suit of armour, ready for another fight. However, what he saw instead made him simply stare in amazement and in complete silence.

The being wasn't even standing there, but rather floating. It was a white-skinned, armless being wearing a yellow derby and a bright blue shirt with the word 'homsar' written on it. Floating on either side of this being was a huge drumstick and a metal pot, which was the source of the clanging metal noise.

Samus blinked. He had certainly seen strange things, but this was just weird…

"Um…I guess I'll just keep going." Samus said as he started to turn.

"AaAaAaAaAaAah! I've got the moves like Jaggar!" The being said randomly as it floated closer to Samus and struck him over the head with the pot.

"Ow! What's your problem?!" Samus demanded.

"Who left the tadpoles in the mayonnaise?" The being drawled as it walked closer to Samus, walking on thin air and making a weird noise when it moved.

Samus sighed and drew his sword again. This thing didn't look threatening, but he knew it wouldn't leave him alone until he got rid of it…

**(Round Three: Homsar)**

"AaAaAaAaAaAah! I'm a poorly-written haiku!"

Samus tried to block out Homsar's non-sequitur ramblings as he ducked under a (seemingly oblivious) swing from Homsar's metal pot. The dark-skinned man lashed out with his sword, striking Homsar and sending the strange being tumbling away, spinning around in midair until he was upside down in midair.

Samus waited for Homsar to come crashing down, but the armless being remained in midair, still upside-down. His eye twitched a few times. "How the heck am I supposed to beat that thing?!" He asked.

"Uh-oh! The pigeons have run away with mah casserole again!" Homsar drawled as he walked (upside-down and in midair) at Samus again and swung the drumstick that was floating beside him. How Homsar was doing all of this without arms was something Samus didn't really want to think about.

Samus lashed out and grabbed Homsar's drumstick, yanking it away from him. "Okay, boy. You want this?" Samus asked.

"That's mah Jenga-ship!" Homsar said.

"Fetch!" Samus said as he hurled the drumstick out the nearest window.

"AaAaAaAaAaAaAah! Don't taze me, Lionel!" Homsar said as he walked (still upside-down) straight out the window and gave chase to the drumstick while still walking on thin air. "Mah cat fed the toad kumquats!"

Samus waited until Homsar was gone completely, still shouting random non-sequitur phrases as he chased after the drumstick. Once the armless being was gone, Samus sighed in relief and sheathed his sword again.

"I don't know what's at the top of this tower, but I seriously doubt it can be more messed-up than THAT thing." Samus shook his head.

With that, Samus ran up the far set of stairs and continued his trek to the roof of the tower.

**(Tower Pinnacle)**

It took a long time, but Samus climbed to the top of the last staircase and stepped out onto the roof of the huge tower. The view from the top of the tower was magnificent, or at least it would have been if Samus had cared enough to look. He was too focused on finding out what was at the top of the tower.

"Finally. I'm here." Samus said as he looked ahead and saw what the tower was made for.

Floating in midair around the middle of the roof were two swords, each giving off a different aura. The sinister-looking one was giving off an evil aura while the more-majestic one was giving off a light aura. Samus recognized the light as something similar to the light that brought him to this strange land.

"Those two swords. They must be what cause Reed and I to come to this strange world." Samus said. "But how is that possible? It's just a couple of swords."

Samus told himself not to be surprised about the possibility of the swords being responsible for the transportations. With everything that had happened to him and the people he had faced in his travels, Samus felt like he shouldn't be surprised at anything he saw anymore.

"Well, now that I'm here, how do I get back home?" Samus asked. "Do I have to use the swords to open a portal somehow?"

Samus stepped towards the swords with the intent to see if there was any way they could help him get back to the Grasslands. At this point, that thought was a tempting enough offer for him to try anything to get back home.

Suddenly, Samus felt someone breathing on his neck from behind. The breaths were long and hard, meaning that whatever was behind him was extremely-angry. Samus slowly turned around to see what was behind him and suddenly wished he hadn't.

Standing before Samus was a huge mountain of man, overweight and clad in golden armour, complete with a helmet that obscured any trace of his face. Samus also saw a large battle axe in his hands, and somehow had a feeling that the huge man was itching to use it. From the looks of things, he had a pretty short temper.

"W-What the heck?!" Samus asked as he jumped back in shock. "Where did YOU come from?!"

The huge man let out an inhuman and feral roar as he hefted his huge axe. It was almost as if this strange man was incapable of speech. Finishing his battle cry, the huge man looked down at Samus. Samus could almost see the feral eyes of the man behind the face-guard of the golden helmet he was wearing.

"Whatever this guy is, he's not going to listen." Samus muttered as he drew his sword and the huge man rushed him at full force.

**(Destined Battle: Berserker)**

Samus jumped back to avoid a powerful axe swing from the Berserker. Berserker's axe hit the surface, creating a huge crack in the roof of the stone tower. Berserker had been fighting with huge and powerful swings, fueled by anger to make his fighting fiercer. Samus was forced to play on the defensive and jump around Berserker's attacks, which in the end was relatively easy to do. It's just that when Berserker landed a hit, it Samus REALLY felt it.

Jumping aside as the Berserker swung down again, Samus saw that the gold-clad warrior had gotten his axe stuck in the roof this time. Seeing his chance, Samus rushed at Berserker, vaulted off his axe and kicked the huge man in the face. As Berserked staggered to the side and released his axe, Samus followed up with a few more quick attacks. A few attacks later and Samus knocked the Berserker to the ground. The huge man struggled to get up, but unconsciousness took over quickly and he finally collapsed onto his face.

Seeing his opponent defeated, Samus sighed in relief and put his sword away again. "That guy was insane." He said. "Now to see what all the fuss is about."

Samus approached the two swords. As he did, he suddenly felt their auras overwhelm him as the presence of these strange weapons made themselves known.

"**This one is strong!"** Soul Edge said. **"He will make a perfect wielder!"**

"_His will is too powerful for you, Soul Edge."_ Soul Calibur retorted. _"He is worthy to be an agent of order rather than chaos."_

"**Once I am done with him, that will all change!"** Soul Edge laughed before turning attention to Samus. **"Select me, mortal. We will send this worthless world into complete chaos!"**

"_No! You must select me and purge the world of chaos!"_ Soul Calibur insisted. _"We must eradicate all the imperfects of the world!"_

Although momentarily surprised at the two swords talking to him, Samus narrowed his eyes. "…Yeah. I don't think so." He said. "I'm just here for a way out, but it doesn't look like either of you are going to help me with that."

"**W-What are you saying?! You should be reaching out for us! Not rejecting us!"** Soul Edge cursed.

Samus stepped back and concentrated, starting to charge his wind rune. "I am from a tribe of people who are one with the planet. We are resistant to temptation and lures like this." He said, eyes narrowed.

"_No…He is just like that wind maiden Talim…"_ Soul Calibur cursed. _"He's…He's impervious to us!"_

"And seeing as how you both are willing to tempt whoever comes here, I need to get rid of you both." Samus said as he held out his hand. Almost instantly, a tornado appeared on the roof, sweeping up both Soul Edge and Soul Calibur and sending them spinning around.

"**N-NO! What are you doing, fool?!"** Soul Edge roared.

"If I am unable to destroy you, then I just need to send you away so that it will take people a few more centuries to find you." Samus said with a smirk as he swept his arms aside, causing the tornado to launch the Soul Swords out in opposite directions. The two swords screamed as they flew off into the distance, miles and miles away from each other and anyone else in the area.

The two swords gone, Samus lowered his arms. He felt like he had just done this land a favour in getting rid of the evil swords like that. Even if he didn't destroy them, he at least gave this land a little more time.

Suddenly, a light appeared off to the side of the roof, showing Samus the same light that had taken him to this world in the first place.

Samus' eyes lit up, looking genuinely happy for the first time since he set foot in this world. "My…My ticket home." He said. "I…I'm coming, Anne!"

Samus didn't spare this strange world a second glance as he ran headlong into the light. The only thing on his mind as everything went white was his wife…

"…_**He returned in time for his wife to go into labour. Life returned to normal for him, aside from the new job of being a father…"**_


	8. Harley Quinn

**Fighter Seven: Harley Quinn**

**(Gotham City; Poison Ivy's Apartment)**

Poison Ivy sighed as she rubbed her head in frustration in an attempt to eliminate her huge headache. Her apartment was a complete mess, her current houseguest, dressed as a red and black-clad harlequin, was making herself at home and her loyal pets were taking their aggression out on said houseguest.

Harley Quinn drove Ivy nuts.

Currently, Harley was in the middle of an attempt to pry her trademark sledgehammer out of the grasp of one of Ivy's plants as a vine was wrapped around her torso and neck and holding her off the ground. Harley was shouting several insults and threats at the offending plant, but clearly not getting anywhere.

"Come on, ya dumb plant! Gimme back my hammer!" Harley shouted angrily (and somewhat comically). "You don't have any right to take it! You can't even USE it!"

The plant proved Harley wrong by yanking the handle back and causing Harley to accidentally hit herself over the head with her own hammer. Harley, still keeping a grip on the hammer, saw stars circling her head. "O-Okay. I stand corrected…" She admitted. "But it's STILL mine!"

"Harley, why did I agree to letting you stay here while Joker cools down?" Ivy asked aloud.

"C'mon, Red! Yer the only one I can trust outside of Mistah J!" Harley said. "I don't have anywhere else ta go and the henchmen would rather turn themselves in than work for me while Mistah J's in prison!"

"Care to tell me what Joker's problem is this time?" Poison Ivy asked as she walked over. "Is he abusing you again?"

"I-It's just his way of showing that he cares!"

Poison Ivy sighed. It was true that she valued Harley's friendship, but the crazy clown was so deluded about Joker that she would never see what little he actually thought of her. Unfortunately, even after receiving a massive abuse at the hands of Joker, Harley would always go back to him no matter how mad she was.

"Let Harley go, you guys." Ivy said to the plants, who dropped Harley but held onto her hammer for now. "Harley, you can stay here for a bit if you want, but this can't keep happening. Every time you go back to Joker, this will all just happen again."

Harley stood up, brushed herself off and folded her arms. "Like YOU would be a good person to give romantic advice." She said.

Ivy scoffed. "It's just me being worried about the life of a friend!" She said. "At least pretend to be thankful for my concern!"

Harley paused, then sighed. "Ya know I didn't mean it like that, Red." She said. "Look, I'm just real upset right now. Mistah J needs some space and I just need to stay away from him for a bit."

Ivy paused for a moment, arms folded. "You know that I'm not fond of your obsession with him, Harley." She said. "Like I said, you can stay here for-"

Suddenly, a bright light appeared in a corner of the apartment, blinding the two friends and making Ivy's plants react in surprise. The bright light quickly shrunk down and turned into a ball of light.

"H-Hey! What's going on?!" Harley asked. "Is that one of Batsy's new gadgets?!"

"I don't know! He couldn't have gotten something inside that quickly!" Ivy replied, shielding her eyes.

The ball of light intensified, flying past Ivy and soaring towards Harley. The clown girl screamed as she shielded her eyes, everything going white around her…

**(Old Blacksmith)**

Harley groaned as she slowly sat up and held her head. She tried opening her eyes, but saw that it was too bright out and she hadn't adjusted her vision yet. Snapping her eyes shut, Harley held her eyes in an attempt to get herself adjusted.

"Why is it so bright out?" Harley asked aloud. "Isn't it still night, Ivy?"

Harley didn't get an answer from her friend, so the clown girl opened her eyes and froze. She was no longer in Ivy's apartment, but sitting near a dirt road, propped up against the stone wall of a lone building. Harley jumped to her feet and looked around. Seeing the lush environment and lack of civilization in the area, Harley could tell that she wasn't in Gotham anymore.

"W-What the heck?! Where am I?!" Harley asked. "Ivy?! Where are you?!"

Harley quickly saw that Ivy was nowhere to be found. Wherever that strange light had taken her, it had taken Harley alone and not Ivy. Harley was truly lost in this strange world and had no idea how to get out of it and back home to Gotham.

Harley looked around at the unfamiliar setting, wondering where she even was. "This building looks so old…Am I in the country or something?" She asked herself before sighing. "Well, I guess that if I'm gonna find my way home, I can't be standing around here all day."

Harley prepared to take out her hammer, but her eyes widened when she realized that she didn't have it on her. Harley patted her pockets several times, looking around frantically. "W-Where'd my hammer go?!" She asked. "I need a form of defense out here!"

A light suddenly went on in Harley's head, remembering the stupid plants in Ivy's apartment; They didn't give her back her hammer back before the light appeared! Harley held her head in agony.

"This can't be happening!" Harley cried. "I'm stuck in a strange world with no idea how to get back to Gotham, I'm completely defenseless and now I'm talking to myself! What am I gonna do?!"

Suddenly hearing a loud clanging of metal coming from inside the building she was near, Harley looked curiously and stood up, making her way over to an open doorway and peering inside.

The building was that of a Blacksmiths, and there was a burly man striking a sword on an anvil to sharpen it. The loud clanging had been blocking out Harley's cries from him and the Blacksmith was working undeterred.

However, Harley looked to the side and saw a large, metal hoop sitting against the wall. Seeing that it had been sharpened like a blade, Harley reached out and grabbed it, quickly deciding to make herself scarce before the Blacksmith saw her. Harley may have preferred her hammer, but at this point, she couldn't afford to be picky…

**(Town Square)**

Harley ignored the people pointing at her strange attire as she walked through town, inspecting the metal ring she lifted from the Blacksmith. From first glances, the ring looked like a hula hoop made for death, which obviously hade Harley intrigued by it. Harley made a mental note to see if she could find something similar once she got back to Gotham.

The clown girl noticed that she was attracting the attention of several kids, who were constantly asking to see tricks or for her to make them laugh. If she was more like Joker, she probably would have mockingly killed them, but Harley had much more of a conscience than her boss and actually enjoyed the childish attention the kids were giving her.

Harley asked around for clues and directions, but she was unable to come up with any leads as to why she was here and how she could get out. She had been in this strange world for a good while now and she was still nowhere close to finding a way out.

Sighing to herself as she walked into an open square in town, with people doing their shopping all around her, Harley glanced around. "No one seems to get the picture, here." She said to herself. "I'm lost here and no one seems to know anything! How the heck am I supposed to get out of this world, now?!"

"Well, well, well. Look who it is."

Her eyes widening at the familiar voice, Harley spun around and found herself staring at a red-haired man dressed in a green suit with a bowler hat leaning against a wall. He held a purple staff shaped like a question mark in his crossed arms and was giving a smirk to the clown girl.

"N-Nygma?!" Harley asked.

The Riddler retained his smirk as he approached Harley. "This is interesting. I wasn't expecting a third Gotham resident to be brought here as well." He said, sounding amused.

Harley blinked. "Third?" She asked.

"Yeah. Red Hood's out there somewhere, doing who-knows-what." Riddler waved it off. "Now then, what exactly brought you here, Quinn?"

"I-I dunno! I was with Ivy in her apartment when this crazy light appeared and brought me here!" Harley insisted.

"Something tells me you're not giving me the whole story." Riddler said as he got into a stance. "Quinn, need I remind you that I'm a detective now. I don't like it when people withhold information from me."

"You're just gonna fight me like that?!" Harley asked, backing away.

"I'll be honest, Harley. Since I've never really liked you, I've been waiting for this chance for a while." Riddler shrugged. "Since 'Mistah J' doesn't appear to be here, I don't have to worry about outside interference."

Harley narrowed her eyes and got into a stance, holding her ring weapon with both hands. "Alright, wise guy! Time to stick your foot in your mouth, where it belongs!" She shouted.

"Your funeral, Quinn." Riddler smirked.

**(Round One: Riddler)**

Harley quickly realized that fighting Riddler with a completely-new and unfamiliar weapon was both a blessing and a curse. She was having a hard time adjusting, but Riddler couldn't predict any of the moves she could do with this bladed ring. Once Harley got the hang of the ring, she easily managed to gain the upper hand in the fight.

Riddler blocked a blow and growled. "Where the blazes did you get that ring?! Why aren't you using your hammer?!" He asked.

"My hammer didn't come with me here, so I had to improvise." Harley smirked. "Glad to see it's wiping that cocky smirk off your face, though."

Riddler narrowed his eyes. "I won't let myself lose to you! That'd be far too-humiliating!" He said as he lashed out with his staff.

Harley spun her ring, striking Riddler's staff and knocking it clear out of his hand. Riddler's staff flew several yards away and struck the wall of a building, narrowly missing an onlooker. Seeing that he was unarmed, Riddler took a few deep breaths, looking at Harley with what looked like a mix of anger and uncertainty, as if he actually didn't know how this would pan out.

"Time to wipe that stupid smirk off your face, Nygma!" Harley said as she rushed at Ridder and leapt at him. Riddler held up his arms to block the blow, but Harley kicked him and forced him backwards, sending him crashing into a food stall. The wooden frame of the stall collapsed around Riddler, knocking him out and finishing the fight.

Harley, seeing that she had won, inspected the ring in her hands. Sensing that she could at least defend herself better now, Harley turned around and walked off, resuming her search for answers. Victorious or not, she was still lost…

**(Old Castle)**

Finally getting a tip on where to go, Harley was directed towards an old castle and was told that it used to belong to a researcher. Harley, out of options, decided to look into it and trekked out to the large building, only to find it completely-abandoned.

"Is there anyone here?!" Harley called out as she walked the hallway of the old castle before walking into a large, open room with a hefty amount of armour suits lining the walls. "I need help!"

Harley sighed. "Looks like no one's lived in this place for years." She lamented. "But why is there still so much furniture here, though? Maybe someone's using it as a hideout?"

Glancing around and seeing that the bookshelves and armour suits were coated with dust, Harley decided that even if someone WAS using the place as a hideout, there was no way the furniture would have that much dust.

Suddenly hearing some footsteps coming from behind, Harley spun around and swung her ring with all her might, causing the figure who was sneaking up behind her to vault backwards on his hands a few times before standing upright.

Harley's eyes widened when she saw an armless being with floating hands and no visible face save for a mouth, wearing nothing but a pair of pants, boots, shades and a bandana. The being gave a smirk at Harley.

"I'm surprised you heard me." The being said. "I'm an assassin, after all. I must be slipping."

"Cut the crap, you freak! What were you trying to do?!" Harley demanded.

"Honestly, trying to find a guy that's likely gone on a murderous rampage." The being shrugged. "I was trying to get around you without you noticing."

Harley narrowed her eyes. "Like I'm gonna fall for that! You were planning on slittlin' my throat once you got close!" She accused.

"Hey, you may have been in my way, but I don't take it that far…Most of the time." The being replied.

"So you admit it!" Harley growled as she got into her stance. "Okay, that does it! I'm taking you down right now, you creep!"

The being sighed, pulled out a pair of nunchucks and got into a stance himself. "This is exactly what I was trying to avoid…" He lamented.

**(Round Two: Sanford)**

Sanford was a much-faster fighter than the Riddler, but Harley was still able to keep on her toes well enough. Blocking a few quick blows from Sanford's nunchucks, Harley swung her ring and forced him backwards.

Sanford grunted and inspected his floating hand, now sporting a visible cut. "That's going to be aching for a bit." He noted as he rushed at Harley again.

However, Harley was ready. As she ducked under another blind swing from Sanford, Harley lashed out and kicked him in the torso. Harley followed up with a hard swing with her weapon, clocking Sanford in the side of the head and sending him down a short flight of steps. Sanford crashed onto the floor of the room, unconscious as soon as he made contact.

Harley sighed in relief as she dropped out of her stance. "I was worried he'd actually gut me for a second." She said as she looked around. "But now where do I-"

Hearing the sound of someone rushing behind her, Harley spun around and held up her ring, blocking the surprise blow, which turned out to be from what looked like a stone arm weight.

The new figure jumped back, revealing a blonde woman with huge ponytails and dressed in an over-the-top, blue spandex outfit, complete with a mask. The woman gave a smirk. "You're quicker than you look, that's for sure." The woman said.

"Why is everyone trying to kill me here?!" Harley demanded. "And what are you?! Some new hero in town or something?!"

"Nope. Just another person in the search for the Ultimate Power." The woman said.

"Wait…What?"

"Oh, you don't know? I've heard that there's this huge power source or something that brought us all here." The woman said. "I hear it's supposed to make whoever finds it real powerful!"

Harley paused, then smirked herself. "Then why don't you tell me what you know about that?" She asked, realizing what a boost in power would do for her.

The woman smirked back. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you anything." She said. "Oh, well. I was going to fight you anyway to stop you from going any further."

"You're darn right you shouldn't have told me anything! Now that I know what's going on, I want in!" Harley said as she spun her ring in her hand.

**(Surprise Challenger: Rainbow Mika)**

Harley, blocking a blow from Rainbow Mika, found herself staggering backwards. This wrestler girl was strong. Much stronger than the others. Those weights of hers felt like solid rock and she was swinging them around easily. Some may question Harley's intelligence, but she knew that she'd need to act fast if she wanted to win.

Ducking under a swing from Mika, Harley lashed out her hand and spun her ring in one hand. Harley's aim was spot on and Mika received several powerful strikes, stunning her. Harley took the time to run at Mika and kick her back.

Holding her head, Mika couldn't help but smirk. "Looks like you've still got some fight in you." She admitted. "I was thinking you'd drained yourself after that last fight…"

Harley smirked and rushed at Mika. "Time to show you how wrong you are, lady!" She roared as she leapt at the wrestler and kicked her with both feet. Mika flew backwards, crashed into a suit of armour and fell to the floor as the metal suit fell on her. The fight was done and Harley was victorious again.

Harley, seeing Mika defeated, admired the ring in her hands. "I LOVE this thing!" She said in awe. "I totally gotta find one of these back in Gotham!"

A thought suddenly appeared in Harley's mind as she turned serious. "Oh! But first, I gotta find that power!" She said. "With power like that, Mistah J will give me nothing but love and respect!"

With that, Harley turned and rushed out of the castle. She now had something else to ask around about, but at least with something like this, she had a feeling she'd get answers a little easier…

**(Grand Tower)**

Directed towards a skyscraper of a tower by locals when asked about an "Ultimate Power", Harley was also warned that this power was forbidden and extremely-dangerous. Harley was too determined to care, though, and made her way into the tower, finding herself climbing up and endless amount of stairs to reach the top.

Climbing up another set of stairs, Harley reached what looked like a breather room, an open area in between two sets of stairs as she could see the next set of stairs across the room.

"How many stairs are there in this stupid thing?" Harley asked as she took a couple breaths and walked towards the far staircase. "I really wish elevators existed in this world. Woulda made everything so much easier…"

Harley knew that whatever was at the top of this tower, it had to be big to require such a big tower built solely to store it. Harley almost couldn't wait to see what it was. The clown girl continued on and walked towards the stairs.

"Hold it, clown girl."

Harley froze and looked over her shoulder, eyes narrowed. She saw an adult man with blonde hair in an unusual hairstyle, holding a sword and glaring at her.

"I don't think you need to take another step towards the power." The man said.

Harley turned and face the newcomer. "And what makes you think you're any better, pal?" She asked.

"I never said I was in for the power. I'm trying to keep it out of the wrong hands." The man shook his head. "The way you've been talking to yourself about claiming the power, I don't think you need to go anywhere near it."

"Sorry, but I don't listen to shmucks with bad hair." Harley taunted as she turned around and spun her metal ring to herself. "Tell me. Exactly what are you going to do to keep me away from this power?"

"I'll fight you. I'll do whatever it takes." The man said, getting into a stance.

"Oh, I'm scared!" Harley taunted, getting into a stance herself. "Now bring it on! I've had enough distractions since I got here as it is!"

"Very well…"

**(Round Three: Reed)**

Reed was clearly a better-trained fighter than Harley, as his sword attacks were quick, precise and well-aimed. Harley had a hard time finding any openings for attack, and when she managed to sneak a hit in, Reed would always counter with a strike of his own.

Harley didn't want to admit it, but she was running out of ideas and Reed was literally backing her against a corner. Harley narrowed her eyes as she blocked another blow from Reed. It was time to start acting reckless again.

Harley swung her ring and deflected an oncoming attack from the blonde swordsman. Harley then proceeded to spin her ring in one hand as she stepped towards Reed, occasionally taking swing but never stopping her spinning.

Reed took a chance and swung his sword, but the force from the spinning ring was enough to knock the sword out of his hands. "What the?!" He asked aloud as he looked at Harley, realizing that she had turned her weapon into an effective buzzsaw.

"Sweet technique, isn't it?" Harley taunted with a wink. "Sometimes, it helps to improvise a bit. Now, I'll just be going onward to take that power."

"I won't let you!" Reed insisted.

"You don't have a say, mac." Harley replied as she swung her leg out and smashed it into Reed's head, sending him flat on his face and rendering him unconscious.

Her job done, Harley turned to the staircase across the room. "I gotta be getting close to the top at this point." She said. "I can just feel it!"

With that, Harley continued onwards. Her journey was almost over and she felt that she didn't have to worry about anything else from here on out…

**(Tower Pinnacle)**

After what felt like an eternity, Harley emerged from the last staircase and onto the roof of the tower. Taking a few deep breaths, Harley glanced back at the stairs and stepped away from them, not wanting to accidentally fall back down.

"Finally. I'm finally at the top of this stupid tower." Harley sighed. "Now to see what all the fuss is about."

Harley looked ahead and saw what looked to be the source of power that she had been told about. Two swords circled each other in the middle of the roof, floating in midair. One looked to be made for order and the other of pure evil. Harley blinked a few times.

"Wait. Just a couple of stupid swords?!" Harley asked. "Everyone's acting like that over a couple of swords?!"

Still, the swords looked like they could do a lot of damage, and Harley knew Joker would probably appreciate the extra firepower, so Harley approached the swords with the intent of taking them.

"…Hehehehehe…"

Harley froze mid-step. "What was that?" She asked aloud.

"…Hehehehehehe…"

Harley started hyperventilating as she looked around. She knew that chuckle. She HATED that chuckle…

"Interested in a game of tag, baby?"

Harley screamed in terror as she spun around and swung her metal ring hysterically. A new figure ducked under the swing and jumped backwards, landing gracefully on his feet. This new figure was revealed to be a yellow-skinned man with green hair, wearing nothing but feathery boots and gloves, a green speedo and a red feather boa. He gave an almost Joker-like grin.

"Boy, oh boy! Imagine running into YOU all the way out here!" The Creeper laughed. "This good luck of mine never fails me!"

"Why do you have to torment me everywhere I go, you creep?!" Harley pleaded.

"That's 'CREEPER', darling." The Creeper grinned. "Now, how about we skip all this talk about swords and evil power and skip right to the part where we make out?"

"Drop dead! Enough of this!" Harley shouted. "If it's the only way you'll leave me alone, then I'll have to kill you!"

"I know you don't mean that, babe!" The Creeper said with a grin.

"GLALDY!"

The Creeper blinked before shrugging and pulling out an unusual-looking sword. "This'll be our first lover's quarrel then…" He admitted.

**(Destined Battle: The Creeper)**

Harley fought as frantically as she could against the Creeper. He had been stalking her in Gotham for a long time, and fighting him in this strange world like this seemed to release a lot of pent-up stress. That being said, the Creeper was no slouch, and was proving to be an unpredictable fighter in his own right. His strange, when spun above his head, would lift him off the ground, and the Creeper would sometimes bounce around on it like a pogo stick.

"Come on, babe! Lighten up and have fun!" The Creeper said. "I thought you were a clown!"

"The only way I'll have fun here is if I beat your sorry brains in!" Harley snapped. "Now stand still!"

"That's no way to talk! And just when I was about to take you to dinner, as well!"

Harley lashed out with her ring, striking the Creeper's sword while he was riding it and knocking him off it, causing the yellow-skinned maniac to fall flat on his face. The Creeper was quick to leap to his feet, however, and was about to say something when Harley gave him a massive headbutt, striking her stalker with enough force to make him stagger backwards and waver in place.

"May name is Yan Yansen…I live in Wisconsin…I work in the lumberyard…There." The Creeper said in a daze before toppling over forward and landing on his face, finally unconscious.

Harley breathed a sigh of relief as she turned to look at the soul swords again, approaching them.

"**Such an amazing fighting spirit!"** Soul Edge laughed, surprising Harley with the deep voice. **"She will make a fine vessel!"**

"_No. Her fighting spirit will make her a good candidate for order."_ Soul Calibur argued.

"W-Wait. What's going on, here?!" Harley asked.

"_You were all brought here for a reason, child. We are that reason."_ Soul Calibur said.

"**We grant immeasurable power to those that wield us!"** Soul Edge said. **"Quick! You need to choose me! It's been so long since I've seen any action!"**

"_You will plunge the world into chaos, Soul Edge!"_ Soul Calibur countered.

"**Like anyone needs a world of complete order!"**

Harley looked back and forth between the two fighting swords, pondering something in her mind. The Joker would be sure to love her back and shower her with attention if she brought back something like these swords, which said they would grant limitless power.

"If…If I bring back one of these swords, Mistah J will accept me again! No more abusive behavior! He sure to notice me!" Harley said in glee. "But…Which one do I take?"

As the two swords continued to argue amongst themselves as to which of them Harley should wield, the clown girl had already made her decision and grabbed one of the swords, pulling it towards her…

…Soul Edge was now in her hand.

"_No!"_ Soul Calibur said. _"You fool!"_

Almost instantly, Harley screamed out in pain as Soul Edge proceeded to take over her body, laughing the entire time. Harley collapsed to her knees as a deep smoke engulfed her. When the smoke cleared, Harley sat breathing heavily, showing that, other than a slightly-darker colour scheme to her clothes and darker makeup, she didn't look much different. Harley gave a dark and evil chuckle as she picked up Soul Edge.

"…Oh, he'll notice me alright." Harley said, giving a twisted and evil smirk.

A light suddenly appeared at the far edge of the roof. Giving a twisted smirk and effortlessly hefting Soul Edge onto her shoulder, Harley marched into the portal silently as everything went white.

"…_**Soul Edge corrupted and controlled her. The Dark Knight found her standing over Joker's bloody body…"**_


End file.
